Catherine Prasifka, shares a few words on her new book, This is How You Remember It.
When I think back over the significant moments of my life, the internet is always there. Lurking in the corner of the sitting room, the classroom; zipped into the front pocket of my schoolbag; tucked away inside my bra. The two of us, we got to grow up together. It’s hard to put into words now, but I can see a through line from the first flash game I played, to the first fan forum I engaged with, to the first social media site I used, to who I am now. Each experience primed me for the next; it all felt so natural, so easy.
There’s a phrase you will see on the internet: why am I like this? The existential question is repeated in memes, bios, songs. I think I am the way I am because of the internet. I think my generation was a sacrificial one, although we didn’t know it at the time. We were the first to come of age online, but we will be no means be the last. I am thankful that I grew up while the social internet was still new, and most of my posts have been lost into the digital ether. I don’t know how young people cope with the scope and permanency of our interconnected online lives.
With my second novel, This Is How You Remember It, I set out to preserve a moment in time. To take the way that I grew up, the way that my friends grew up, and put it under a microscope. I wanted to put the reader into the shoes of someone growing up online, to make them understand. When you’re a teenager, you are always looking for answers. You are exploring the outer bounds of your identity, figuring out who you are. For us, the internet was there to answer all of our questions, to tell us who we should be. This is how we remember growing up, and if you don’t remember it, I invite you to.
You can now pre-order This is How You Remember It on dubraybooks.ie
