Jayson Greene

Years ago, I must have been 8 or 9 years old, a book made the rounds of our family. The title was “Angel Unaware.” It was by Dale Evans and Roy Rogers, and it was about their daughter Robin who had been born in 1950 with Downs Syndrome and a heart ailment. She died shortly before her second birthday. That book moved me, young as I was. I think it was one of the first times I had confronted the idea of death. Jayson Greene’s book “Once More We Saw Stars” reminded me of that Roy show more Rogers and Dale Evans book about their own daughter they lost at about the same age as Jayson and his wife lost their daughter Greta. Jayson’s book is a chronicle of pain and grief and how two parents survive that pain and grief. The lengths to which they go to deal with their loss show the reader just how deeply rooted in their being it was. A trip to a New Age retreat camp, while almost comical in its strange but very new ageish rituals, showed just how desperate and willing Jayson and his wife were to find a way to live with the loss of their daughter. I’m not sure it’s accurate to say they eventually learned to “live with” the grief. They learned to understand it and to incorporate it into their lives with their new son Harrison. And they were determined to make sure that Harrison knew his sister, even though he would never meet her. This book was touching in a very special way because it wasn’t an attempt to gain sympathy from the reader so much as it was Jayson’s attempt to show the reader what two parents can do to find a way when reason, logic, and grief tell them there is no way. show less

In the world of UnWorld, humans have the ability to accessorize their brains with a device that stores their memories. Smooths them out. Helps them organize their thoughts. Not quite an implant, as they are externally worn, but somehow these devices grasp the human's brain and intersect with it.

Anna has a son, Alex, and a husband, Rick. Alex is 15 and a bundle of anxiety. Rick has the boundless enthusiasm and energy of a golden retriever. Both Alex and Rick feel too much, while Anna is more show more stoic. Anna was gifted an 'upload' by her husband for her 40th birthday. For eight years she's synced nightly with this non-human part of her brain. But when things go horribly, terribly wrong in her life, she can no longer handle having this extra voice inside her head. It has simply become too much.

This was not an easy book to read. Some of the themes are very dark and tragic. The characters are all struggling with their own issues. But that being said, it's also an amazing dive into the human psyche. Each chapter covers a point of view of one of the main characters, starting and ending with Anna. While Anna really is central to the entire story, the true center is the 'upload.' This fictional bit of hardware that almost seems to have a soul is the main character and the reason for the story to exist.

Quite creative in the sci-fi sense, this book really isn't science fiction. While the town Anna and the others inhabit is mostly run by AI, the people are just people like you and me. With the same quirks and habits. It's really very well done in the sense that you don't feel like you're going to an alternate universe.

As I said, not the easiest book to read. But worth every minute spent reading. The character development and storyline are interesting. Well thought out and well constructed. I did enjoy it.

Trigger warning: suicide and addiction show less

3.5
Imagine if in the near future we could chose to have an interface between a computer generated AI clone, a virtual entity that shared our memory and knowledge of the world. An entity that you could communicate with, that made you feel less alone. That could take on some of your tasks. Perhaps it could be a short term babysitter while you were away. What if your child became attached to your upload clone? And what the entity could separate from it’s tether–you–to exist in the cloud show more and even communicate with others?

A strange and lonely boy finds solace in creating a computer game, UnWorld. His only friend is the older Samantha. They were working on a film project when Alex suddenly goes over a cliff and dies. Sam is stunned. Alex’s mother is devastated–as is her AI upload who elects to untether from her.

Only Sam knows Alex’s secret attachment to his mother’s upload.

A horrible thought came to me: maybe Alex was just an idea that we had. Somehow I had blinked or lost track of him, and now we couldn’t prove he had ever even existed. This was the final violence of death: the way it turned people back into ideas. from UnWorld by Jayson Greene

This speculative fiction/suspense novel will especially appeal to the generations who have grown up with computers and keep up with the latest technology. What is possible? Can technology reach personhood? Can AI learn emotions? Does technology separate humans from humans or offer a place of acceptance and connection?

The story is also about the most profound and universal human experience: grief. Can we ever understand another’s inner life and why they make the decisions they make? How can we move on?

An interesting book that grapples with emerging concerns.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley. show less

Once More We Saw Stars is a heartbreaking tribute to the author's two-year-old daughter that was killed in an accident. Jayson Greene puts into words all parents' worst fears - losing a child, and what comes next. He and his family's journey to find peace and acceptance in the face of unspeakable pain and tragedy brought me to tears multiple times while reading; tissues are recommended! Emotionally raw, beautifully honest, and a cathartic read that made me gratefully hug my own child extra show more tight. Definitely not a light read, but a worthwhile story. show less