The Role of Memory and Déjà Vu in My Storytelling

When people ask me what my books are about, I often start with the big themes: reincarnation, soulmates, love that lingers across lifetimes. But if I dig a little deeper, if I peel back those layers, I find that much of my storytelling actually rests on something quieter and more elusive: memory.

Not full, intact memory — but fragments. Whispers. Glimpses that slip in sideways, catching you off guard and making you wonder: Why does this feel so familiar?

That’s where déjà vu comes in.

In the Prospect Tower series, memory and déjà vu are not just plot devices — they’re emotional compass points. They guide my characters toward truths they can’t yet name and toward people they can’t yet fully remember. They’re a thread running between lives, pulling two souls back together no matter how much time or distance lies between them.

Fragments, Not Floods

From the beginning, I knew I didn’t want my characters to remember everything at once. Life doesn’t work that way. Anyone having suffered memory loss, knows it returns a little at a time.

So I chose fragments: the smell of paper and ink in an old library. A familiar laugh heard in an unfamiliar place. A song that stirs something you can’t explain.

In A Boy From Before, for instance, the song “As Time Goes By” acts as a kind of soul-level breadcrumb. My characters don’t immediately know why it matters — only that it does. That’s how memory works in my stories. It’s not about cognitive recall; it’s about emotional recognition. It’s about something deep inside saying, This is important. This is yours.

These fragments are like emotional time bombs. They go off unexpectedly, leaving my characters with feelings they can’t fully place — joy, grief, longing — and forcing them to follow those threads until they uncover the truth.

The Emotional Weight of Déjà Vu

Déjà vu is one of those phenomena that fascinates me in real life. Science has plenty of theories for it, but for storytellers like me, it lives in that magical in-between: part memory, part mystery.

In my books, déjà vu isn’t just a quirky brain glitch — it’s a soul recognizing what the mind hasn’t caught up to yet. It’s that sudden pull when you meet someone and feel like you’ve known them forever. It’s walking into a room and knowing — truly knowing — you’ve been there before, even when logic tells you that’s impossible.

For Zander and Max, my two protagonists in The Option, A Love Story Cut Short, déjà vu becomes their soul’s way of cutting through the noise of their present lives. It’s how they find their way back to each other.

Clues for the Reader, Too

One of my favorite things as a writer is planting clues for readers to discover — little details that may seem insignificant at first but later click into place with an almost audible oh.

Memory and déjà vu are perfect tools for that. They let me drop breadcrumbs — a song lyric here, a passing reference there — that pay off chapters (or even books) later.

I’ve had readers message me after finishing one of my books to say, “I went back and reread chapter two, and now I get it.” That’s one of the highest compliments I could receive. It means the emotional weight of those small moments landed.

Drawing from Real Life

People often ask if I’ve experienced déjà vu myself. The answer is yes — a couple of times. There’s one moment I’ll never forget: standing in a place I knew I had never been before, and yet feeling an overwhelming sense of belonging, like I’d been waiting years just to stand there.

That experience — and another like it — stayed with me. They became the foundation for the way I write déjà vu into my stories. It’s not about cognitive familiarity. It’s about emotional truth.

I think that’s why memory and déjà vu resonate so deeply in my writing: they echo something many experience. A moment that feels like more than coincidence. A song that makes us ache for someone we can’t name. A place that feels like home for no logical reason. A stranger who feels like an old friend.

Why It Matters

Ultimately, memory and déjà vu in my books are about hope. They remind us that even if we lose everything — even if lifetimes pass — the deepest connections endure.

Love, especially, refuses to be erased.

That’s why I keep coming back to these themes. They allow me to tell love stories that defy time, stories where reunion isn’t just a plot point — it’s a promise.

Your Turn

I’d love to hear from you:
Have you ever experienced déjà vu that felt like more than just a brain trick? A moment that felt like a memory from another life?

Drop me a message through my contact form, and share your experience.

And if you’d like to keep up with my work, join my monthly newsletter. I share teasers from upcoming novels, behind-the-scenes thoughts, Q&As, and special discounts for my readers.

Thank you for being part of this journey with me.

With gratitude,
M.J. Neuben