The Rag and Bone Shop: How We Make Memories and Memories Make Us

I am writing this early as I am still only one third of the way through the book. I read these books quite slowly underlining key phrases and passages as I go, and then re- read the chapters before moving to the next. So it will be some weeks before I finish.My first impressions are that Veronica O'Keane has a profound understanding of memories, how they are created and affect us. She is good at interweaving history, and stories of her patients, with the development of mind sciences and how far we have got with our understanding of its processes. When I review my underlined passages I find she has hit the concepts she wants to get across squarely on the head.We all know memory is a dynamic process, and that false memories are impossible to separate from memories of real events. O'keane takes us into a deeper understanding, without blinding us with a dense text.I think this is the best book I have read on memory.

I would like to treat this review as a letter to the author and begin with part of her final words, "Thank you". I came to this book through a sympathetic review in The Guardian and I am glad I did. Warm, caring, personal yet rigorously science-based, literate and insightful your book was all of these things but more, and the 'more' is unquantifiable. I sense a caring professional who is often successful simply because she is caring.I would like to finish on an autobiographical note; I, too, have come from an Irish Catholic background, the huge gap I see in your view of the mystery of human reality comes, in my opinion, from throwing out the 'BABY' ( transcendence, spirituality, religion, God) with the 'BATHWATER' ( the cultural, flawed, societal institutions).I wish you well and thank you again.

This was mostly new information to me and it was delivered in clear prose as well as great expertise and a warm human touch

This is the work of a distinguished academic psychiatrist with a wealth of research and clinical experience behind her.An engaging writing style which takes you on a personal and professional journey and along the way addresses some of the central questions in psychology and psychiatry. And, indeed, life. Written almost in the style of a whodunnit. It will be of interest to professionals and lay men and women alike.

This book is very easy to read but contains a lot of complex information. It is like reading a deceptively simple short story: this is because of the way the book is structured, like a brilliant novel. You will find insights and well validated scientific information. I am left with so much new information about my memories, my brain rattling around in my head.

Delighted to receive this book so quickly but disappointed again that the cover is ruined.

Well set out .

Divided into two parts, the first centred around explaining "how we make memories" and the second around "how memories make us", Veronica O'Keane's attempt to demystify memory takes from several domains to tackle her subject matter.Mostly drawing from established and recent neurological discoveries, she also integrates case studies and literary insights to further illuminate her explanation of the cognitive processes involved in memory.O'Keane being a psychiatrist with decades of experience across the British Isles, she provided me with a deepened knowledge of how phenomena such as psychosis and stress are experienced and how memory works (or doesn't more like) when experiencing these. It was also a good refresher in terms of brain anatomy and processes, though frankly some of it did go over my head after a while.While the literary references were nice in some respect (i.e. a bit of a solace from the dry science), I am not convinced that it was a successful integration that ultimately created a sum larger than its parts.I would say that for me this book is more of a 3.5 stars. I did take quite a lot from it, but in fairness it wasn't exactly a page turner due to the nature of its content and, while engaged and interested, I didn't fly away with it.Let's hope now I can remember at least the most salient parts from it.Many thanks to Penguin Press UK and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.