The first chapter “Freedom Summer” deals with incest, and civil rights movement in Mississippi. Golden does more than tell a story, she teaches a history lesson. She goes inside the minds of workers in the movement and creates a scene that duplicates the atmosphere of that historical movement. The opening chapter of this novel was compelling and my expectations where that the entire book was based on this era, but the rest of the narrative did not fulfill, instead each chapter in “And Do Remember Me” read as a separate book.

In the second Chapter “Bright Lights“, Golden deals with the New York theater scene, rape, alcoholism, and infertility.

The third Chapter “Passages” deals with academic life in Washington, breast cancer and redemption. The segment devoted to Jessie's friend Macon is unnecessarily disconnected from the narrative flow of Jessie/Pearl.

Even though each Chapter had a voice of its own, its characters were rich and unforgettable, I found the novel a good read that drew me in and the psychological breakthrough for Jessie/Pearl in the final chapter, "Requiem", left me unrepentantly satisfied. ( )