Synopsis

Adopted in infancy, Hannah Glass’s childhood on Long Island was idyllic. Panic began taking hold of her when, at age 14, she witnessed on television the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. Later, as a young woman, she watched as her fiancé, David, was struck and killed by a bus on a Manhattan street. Only in the aftermath of her grief did Hannah begin to think about  her origins. Now an accomplished journalist, Hannah decides to investigate her past and learn about her birth mother.

Serendipitously, Hannah receives a plum assignment from a national magazine to interview trauma expert Dr. Jo Brightman. More than a celebrity profile, Hannah sees the gig as an opportunity to understand her lifelong struggles with terror. Could the emotional effects of ancestral, social, and cultural trauma be inherited?

But before she can complete the article, Hannah receives word from a long-lost relative in England, Zachary Levi, via his close associate, Mr. Graham Pauly, that she is Levi’s sole heir and beneficiary. More of the answers Hannah seeks lie in the contents of a mysterious vintage chest shipped by Levi to Hannah’s parents’ home. Still more is revealed when she travels to London to meet Zach and Graham, as the journey morphs from one of investigating the past to exploring love.

Praise

“When Dreams Remember is a compelling tale of memory, family history, trauma, and fate. In the wake of the events of 9/11, and losing her fiancé David in an accident, journalist Hannah Glass deals with panic and anxiety. As a journalist searching for her birth mother, her meeting with trauma expert Dr. Jo Brightman and sudden contact with her biological grandfather in England raises questions about her psyche and reality, that she never thought existed. How is the Holocaust heritage from her mother's side expressed in her life? Is the echo of trauma passed down genetically? How much of it is the result of upbringing or nurture? Jacqueline Heller's novel picks up various threads of her previous volume Yesterday Never Sleeps, and weaves them into a fascinating tapestry of a therapeutic journey, healing strategies, and personal growth. This is a must read, page-turner for anyone interested in understanding the connection between emotional inheritance, healing, hope, and love.”
—PROF. JUDITH TYDOR BAUMEL-SCHWARTZ, Director, The Arnold and Leona Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

“In a tantalizing, page turner, Dr. Heller has given us an update on understanding the mind, the brain, and the heart. While a stay-up-late read, this book is a description of what we now know about how the brain encapsulates experience, how trauma passes down the generations, and how human decency heals. I feel honored to have read it.”
—ARLENE KRAMER RICHARDS, EDD, Training Analyst, IPTAR, and AIP, ; author, Psychoanalysis: Listening to Understand, Coeditor, Loneliness: Only the Lonely, Rage and Creativity