The Strange Case of Jane O.

Jane is a young, single mother. She works at the New York Public Library, lives in Brooklyn and mostly keeps to herself. One day she is found in the park, lying in the grass and has no memory of the 25 hours that have just passed. Frantic with worry about her one year old son, she quickly learns that his daycare attendant kept him overnight and he is fine. The police investigate to assure Jane there was no outside involvement and she quickly contacts the only psychiatrist she knows, one she saw very briefly at 17 years old. When Jane begins to meet with Dr. Byrd she also reveals a recent hallucination that she experienced, that, along with this lapse in memory is simply terrifying. Especially for someone like Jane, who has a life long condition known as hyperthymesia. She can recall an abnormally large number of life experiences in vivid detail. Narrated by both Dr. Byrd and Jane we learn first hand how this patient, kind psychiatrist desperately wants to help this woman who may or may not be telling the whole truth. Dr. Byrd diagnoses Jane with another rare disorder called dissociative fugue, a sort of reversible amnesia.  Although the novel moves slowly, this incredibly original storyline is interesting and extremely well written. Highly recommend! ⭐⭐⭐⭐