Would You Give Up Your Memories?

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Posting a snippet on an author's series page (try to avoid spoilers for those that haven't read all the books of the *bleep* series yet) got me wondering . . .

Would you ever give up your nearest & dearest memories?

If you had to sacrifice precious memories to get something else in return, would you do it? Could you?

[chucklesthescot]

I don't have a lot of really great memories to worry about so I reckon I would give them up for money. That would let me move out of this hellhole of a town to a nice quiet place where I can read and sleep in peace!

[Literary Ames]

I don't have many great memories either but I'd worry about the sort of person I'd be if I lost the few that I have so I don't think I'm willing to give them up unless what I'm bargaining for was extremely important.

[Aske]

Mine as well just join the group, I don't have many great memories either. It would depend on what I will get in return I guess. Precious memories are really important so I wouldn't just give them up for anything.

[Corazon]

On my first thought - I read the book, too with these question - I would say: No.
I had/have a great life, I don't wanna miss a thing/memory from it.

But on the other side.... people forget so much information during her life, so what are a few memories more? On every day of your life you create new ones.
So I think, when you give up some memories you will not know it, so you will not miss them. It is not there and what isn't there you can not know or miss, isn't it?

"....sacrifice precious memories to get something else in return...."

It depends on what you will get in return.
I was in a situation, I would have give everything to get what I want. If someone is desperate enough, you will pay the prize without a second thought.
And as I mentioned above, if you had lost the memory, you will not know it after it happened and there will be no regret.

[Laura Lulu]

I have awesome, wonderful memories, and I have horrible, shitty, embarrassing, painful memories. So, not to sound cliche, but wouldn't I be a different person without those memories & experiences? Would some of my awesome, wonderful memories have ever even happened without the life lessons & emotions of my shitty memories?

Hmmm...think about them apples. ;)

[Corazon]

Laura
when you today give up some memories, it wouldn't change your personality. These would be the same. You will not be a different person.
Give up the memories means, you have lived them and not, that your past will be deleted.

Tomorrow I will give you XYZ when you give me the best memory of your live.
So you give it to me, but you had once lived these memories and it has made your personality. So though you give up the memory it wouldn't change your personality. Your personality is still there, the only thing is you will not remember anymore this special memory. All the other things and memories will stay in place. You didn't give up your personality. Once formed, it can't be changed (at least not easy).

ie. a patient in the hospital I once were, had after an accident lost his memories from youth to adult. He didn't get them back 'til today.
I and the doctors asked friends and family of him, if his personality has changed through this lost and they say: NO, he is the same as before. He is a wonderful husband and father, a great brother and friend and the same son to his parents. He has the same interests as before and the same awful taste in movies ;-)

[Laura Lulu]

I see what you're saying, and I don't really mean that your personality would change, per se, but you might make completely different life choices without your memories.

So say I gave you one of my horrible memories. Now, if it's a memory of someone I loved dying, that really won't change who I am by giving it up. But say it was a memory of a horrible relationship, or a really bad choice I made that resulted in something terrible happening. Hopefully I have learned something from that terrible memory, something that will influence choices I make in the future. If I gave up that memory, would I make that horrible choice again because I didn't remember the pain & life lessons?

[Corazon]

Maybe, maybe not.

There are so many people who made horrible choices or are in a horrible relationship, but they didn't learn anything about it. They made this faults/experiences/choices again and again, though they new better.

Two outcomes....
Who says, that you will made the same horrible experience twice in life?
Or....
Maybe the personality is so constructed, that you will made in the same situation the right choice.