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A Familiar Rain

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 13 ratings · 7 reviews

The sudden death of his wife pushes Alex Hemmer, a young neuroscience researcher, to press ahead with his attempts to relive past events. In a startling breakthrough, he synthesizes a bacterial toxin that is a bona fide memory drug. By administering the substance in conjunction with electric needling of key areas of the brain, test subjects are able to relive past events....more

Kindle Edition, 300 pages

Published April 1st 2011 by Chinook Publishing (first published March 21st 2011)

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May 13, 2013 Peggy Holloway rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked the plot of this book and it did make me cry and stirred up many emotions, but there was a lot to wade through to get to the good stuff. It moved at a snails pace. The storyline is very unique which I like a lot.

The story is about a psychology professor and memory researcher who has developed the ability, through a drug he developed and a unique process of regression, to be able to make it possible for people to actually live moments that they can remember. He spends page after page expl...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Dennise rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was full of emotion. I didn't want to put it down, but had too often as it's not in paper form, but is an ebook. I had to read it on my computer and reading time is limited for this manner. Since I've been sick for the past couple of days, I've been able to spend me time reading in bed with my laptop on my...lap.

This is a story of love, loss and crushes. Alex, a university professor, is working on a memory drug and mapping the brain's memory centers between his lectures. He falls in lo...more This book was full of emotion. I didn't want to put it down, but had too often as it's not in paper form, but is an ebook. I had to read it on my computer and reading time is limited for this manner. Since I've been sick for the past couple of days, I've been able to spend me time reading in bed with my laptop on my...lap.

This is a story of love, loss and crushes. Alex, a university professor, is working on a memory drug and mapping the brain's memory centers between his lectures. He falls in love with is soul-mate, marries and as most do, he continues his work to the detriment of his marriage. Something often happens when two people marry, they take each other, or at least one of them takes the other for granted. This happened here and Alex spent a great deal of time, telling his wife, Laura, as soon as he finishes this project, they'll do...

Unfortunately, Laura dies after only two years of marriage and Alex can't reconcile with himself how he'd left her behind. He misses her dearly and decides to keep her memory alive with his project. After five years of pushing aside feelings and emotions for another, Laura's best friend, Abbey, Alex realizes the importance and roll of memory. His last couple of experiments were done with the thoughts that he was going too far.

I enjoyed the pace of this book. I laughed and cried with the characters. I wanted to say to Alex and Abbey what others wanted to say--get together will you. You're meant for each other. I avidly believe what the priest told them, man is not meant to be alone. When one loses their spouse, especially early in life, one should mourn and not attempt to forget or push aside the former, but embrace the new chance with another love. Alex finally realized this at the end of the book.

There were many story lines interwoven with Alex and Abbey's that made this book interesting and worth the read. The possibilities of the uses of his research were well covered and Alex's take was interesting. The university politics wasn't too heavy and added an element of mystery through-out.

I recommend adding this ebook to your reader and reading it on a rainy day. (or a sick one as I did) (less)

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Oct 28, 2011 Joyce Faulkner rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: personal-favorite

I bought this book for my Kindle, thinking I'd downloaded a lovely read for a rainy day. The title -- and even the cover -- imply simplicity, peace, and relaxation. And yes, "A Familiar Rain" is all of those things. The delivery is mellow and graceful. I stretched out on the couch, rain coincidentally thumping on the skylight, and slipped into the lives of a University professor, his colleagues, and his students -- a world far away from that of the old soldiers and adventurers whose books I usua...more I bought this book for my Kindle, thinking I'd downloaded a lovely read for a rainy day. The title -- and even the cover -- imply simplicity, peace, and relaxation. And yes, "A Familiar Rain" is all of those things. The delivery is mellow and graceful. I stretched out on the couch, rain coincidentally thumping on the skylight, and slipped into the lives of a University professor, his colleagues, and his students -- a world far away from that of the old soldiers and adventurers whose books I usually read and edit.

However, aside from Alex's romance with Laura--and the tragedy that befalls them -- even aside from the politics and quarrels inherent in the cloistered University culture, there are deep questions that I pondered for days after finishing this book. They crept up on me even while I was enjoying the romance and I realized that this was what the author intended. And then, I was amused to realize that these thoughts were FAMILIAR.

What is the nature of memory? Oh, we can argue about whether or not we want to remember the good things and forget the bad. However, I began to wonder if memory is to history as smell is to taste. Without it, would life be as pleasurable? Or does it, as the author posits, torment us with what we can no longer have?

In one scene, during an experiment, a scientist stimulates certain portions of Alex's brain so that his memory of a past event becomes so intense that he relives the incident. In his mind, he swoops up behind a couple walking and slips into the body of the man he used to be so he could be with Laura again. This brought images to my mind of the movie "Ghost" where lovers caught on opposite sides of the life/death membrane ache for each other so much that Patrick Swayze jumps into the body of Whoopie Goldberg to hold his lover again. It also reminded me of Ernest Dowson's plaintive cry...

"LAST night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine
There fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shed
Upon my soul between the kisses and the wine;
And I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, I was desolate and bowed my head:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion."

And I thought -- Aha! Whether through memory or a medium or by replacing a lost love with an unimportant living one, some bonds remain even after death.

"A Familiar Rain" left me thinking about resilience and longing and complexity of the human emotions--and wondering if other creatures grieve with the same intensity.(less)

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Oct 17, 2012 Áine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Join Alex, Abbey, Laura, Len in the Lab where they meet the original Riddler - Heraclitus -ὁ Σκοτεινός

"No man ever steps in the same river twice". A Familiar Rain explores the premise of memory travel to the past. Alex and the Lab team discover a drug called mnemontine which allows a person to relive a memory exactly as it happened. They work on a technique called cerebrography for regressing their subjects and stimulating their brains. Would you relive the moments with your long-dead love if yo...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Richelle Goodrich rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book means to make the reader think, questioning life and one’s own choices. A sweet feel permeates the story, but, as the cover and title elude, a near constant cloud hangs over the main character, Alex Hemmer. It is not a black cloud, but emotionally dreary. ‘A Familiar Rain’ is the story of coping with pain – more specifically, the silent demons created when life tragically fails to follow an expected path. It is a fight between the lure of fervent dreams that would claim every waking th...more This book means to make the reader think, questioning life and one’s own choices. A sweet feel permeates the story, but, as the cover and title elude, a near constant cloud hangs over the main character, Alex Hemmer. It is not a black cloud, but emotionally dreary. ‘A Familiar Rain’ is the story of coping with pain – more specifically, the silent demons created when life tragically fails to follow an expected path. It is a fight between the lure of fervent dreams that would claim every waking thought if not for a harsh reality demanding attention.

Two powerful love stories compete here, both with their own challenges. Alex and Laura seem the perfect pair, destined lovers meant to grow old in each other’s arms. As is the case in many lives, anticipating the future makes it too easy to take days for granted. But time has a painful way of abandoning people. Alex finds himself a young widower, his life over but for the grief he feeds daily.

At first it appears that Alex’s struggle is to cope with the loss of his beloved wife, wishing to the point of zealous scientific research to find a way to be with her again. He fixates on the idea of reliving treasured memories through an innovative procedure called cerebrography, thus keeping his wife superficially alive in his mind. It eventually comes to light that his true struggle is with the regret of denying her his undivided time when it was his to give. Once Alex accepts and forgives himself for this perceived neglect, he is able to offer a fragile heart to Abbey, a woman of the utmost patience who has worked as a friend and colleague beside him, waiting for his inner battle to finally cease. Their chance at love is both the end of the story and a new beginning.

The quote that stood out most for me sums up this innate human need to make sense of and learn from our mistakes and losses. “God plans for us to remember, but He also plans for us to forget.” This book is a gentle reminder that time doesn’t stand still. Days cannot be repeated. And, though many sweet sentiments may feel familiar, in the end they can only be cherished. This was an enjoyable read.
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Aug 17, 2012 Wilma Reiber rated it 4 of 5 stars

What an interesting question: do you want to relive (not just remember) emotions you felt in the past? I guess nobody can really answer that question unless they had the opportunity to experience it. I don't know whether this will be possible through medication and brain wave mapping one day. But the story makes you wonder.
The story is entertaining, heartwarming and thought provoking, spiced with romance, thrill and philosophical ponderings.
I enjoyed all its aspects and recommend it to anybody...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Mark Young rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good read. Enjoyed the character's development and plot line. I'd recommend it to others.

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“...here's what I've learned - people will hurt you, but you don't have to respond - not every mean comment or cruel act deserves to be noticed ...” — 23 people liked it

“...true love is an irrevocable act - you can only give your heart away once - after that, you give as much as you have left ...” — 16 people liked it

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