On Thursday, 7 May, we celebrated the launch of What We Remember, What We Forget: A memoir in memory by Siobhan Harvey at Unity Books Auckland.
Friends, readers, writers and supporters gathered to mark the publication of this award-winning memoir, which explores themes of family, illness, memory and loss.
Sue Wootton, Siobhan and Jenny Nagle
The evening opened with a welcome from Sue Wootton and a reading from Siobhan, and we were delighted to have Jenny Nagle, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Society of Authors, officially launch the book.
In her speech, Jenny highlighted Siobhan’s longstanding contribution to Aotearoa New Zealand literature – as a writer, editor, teacher and advocate for writers – and described the memoir as ‘a significant addition to the growing canon of work on politics, trauma and identity’.
Jenny also noted that in 2024 Siobhan received a Highly Commended award in the Bridport Memoir Manuscript Award for an early draft of What We Remember, What We Forget.
Reflecting on the memoir, Jenny spoke of its exploration of the ‘shards, fragments, impressions’ of memory, and of the ways people survive violence, silence and shame. She described the book as tracing both ‘finding identity, and early solace in books and words’, and the discovery of community and possibility through reading and writing.
As Jenny observed:
I was struck by how deftly this book shows that hurt, insults and abuse leave a constant sting, with the same power to wound after decades – yet memories of joy seem more muted and unsustainable. How shame and damage stick like a plaster, and one small trigger unleashes that pain all over again, colouring new experiences.
She also noted the book’s movement towards hope, observing that ‘after all, it finishes at a place of calm and hope, that feels like Spring.’
Siobhan and fellow OUP author Liz Morton
Our sincere thanks to Unity Books Auckland for hosting such a lovely evening, and to everyone who came along to celebrate the publication of this remarkable book.