“At once an eloquent memoir, a wide-ranging commentary on cultural diversity, and an expert distillation of the research on language learning, loss, and recovery.”—The Economist

“Insightful and informative…Sedivy examines what happens to memory, dreams, and even the sense of self when you enter another language.”—Eva Hoffman, author of Lost in Translation

“Engagingly describes the disorienting and sometimes shattering experience of feeling one’s native language atrophy as a new language takes hold…Sedivy elegantly captures why the language(s) we use are so dear to us and how they play a central role in our identities.”—Science

“A profound elegy to memories that endure despite displacement and the many time zones that define our lives.”—André Aciman

Julie Sedivy was two years old when her parents left Czechoslovakia. By the time she graduated from college, she rarely spoke Czech, and English had taken over her life. When her father died unexpectedly and her strongest link to her native tongue was severed, she discovered that more was at stake than the loss of language: she began to feel she was losing herself.

In Memory Speaks, Sedivy explores the brain’s capacity to learn—and forget—languages at various stages of life, poignantly combining a rich body of psychological research with a moving story that is at once deeply personal and universally resonant.

"At once an eloquent memoir, a wide-ranging commentary on cultural diversity, and an expert distillation of the research on language learning, loss, and recovery." - The Economist

"Engrossing and poignant." - Times Literary Supplement

"Engagingly describes the disorienting and sometimes shattering experience of feeling one’s native language atrophy as a new language takes hold…[A] beautifully written book…Sedivy elegantly captures why the language(s) we use are so dear to us and how they play a central role in our identities. If we believe multilingualism is valuable, then we must work to preserve language contexts while embracing linguistic diversity." - Science

"As a child trying to fit in with her new surroundings, Sedivy quickly forgot much of her Czech…Relearning Czech as an adult offered redemption, and Sedivy’s book is in part an account of how through that act of learning she has found ways to bind disparate aspects of her identity…Beyond the striking anecdotes from her own biography, Sedivy’s book is at its best when she brings insights from psycholinguistics to the page." - New York Review of Books

"[A] moving and deeply personal account…Sedivy also makes a case for saving endangered languages…The connection between language and memory is…beautifully rendered…An astute, thoughtful volume." - Publishers Weekly

"With implications for communities and identities, Memory Speaks is an astute linguistic investigation, showing that language is something both in people and of them." - Foreword Reviews (starred review)

"Beautifully told. It is also packed with a tour of the science on bilingualism, in which [Sedivy] is an expert, as well as the controversial topic of how one’s native language influences thought. As if that were not enough for this fascinating book, she…illuminates what is lost when a language dies." - The Economist

"Fascinating…In a panoramic vista of how we inhabit language and how it inhabits us, with openness and curiosity, Sedivy studies the process of losing one’s language and also provides several paths to reviving and reclaiming one’s lost self." - Dawn

"A graceful blend of personal memoir with the author’s scholarly field of psycholinguistics, Memory Speaks offers generalist readers an opportunity to appreciate the marvelous complexity of human language—an ancient technology that our digital age’s most hyped AI, telematics and algorithms have yet to match. You don’t need to be an academic linguaphile—or even an everyday Wordle enthusiast—to reap rewards from this provocative book." - Alberta Views