On Writing and Storytelling: Jim, Mrs. Brillenstein, and the Confluence of Memory and Fiction

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Late to Homeroom

7:45 AM

I was late for homeroom. Mrs. Brillenstein didn’t like that. She was a young-looking woman, maybe in her early thirties, with long auburn hair and big brown eyes that could be friendly or fierce, depending on her mood. She taught English 2, Regular, and drama in Room 230, which was also known as the Little Theater. It had a small stage and rows of seats that curved around it like a horseshoe. It was a cool place to hang out, but not when Mrs. Brillenstein was mad at you.

The first time I met her, the day I started 10^th grade, I thought she was a student. She was sitting behind the desk, reading a book, and I walked up to her and asked, “Do you know when Mrs. Brillenstein will get here?”

She looked up at me with a blank expression and said, “You’re talking to her, Mr…?” She waited for me to say my name.

I felt my face turn red. “Oh…you’re Mrs. Brillenstein! I thought you were…oh. I’m sorry.”

She stared at me for a second, then smiled slightly. “That’s okay. First day of high school jitters. I remember those. You’re in my homeroom, right?”

She took the postcard I had in my hand and checked it against her roll sheet. Then she handed it back to me and said, “Take a seat, please, Mr. Garraty.”

I still laugh at myself for that blunder. But not when Mrs. Brillenstein was mad at me. Like she had almost been on the morning that I signed up for chorus class.

Mrs. Brillenstein gave me a look that said she was not happy to see me. I was 20 minutes late for homeroom, and it was the first day back from winter break. I had a good excuse, though. I had been to see Mrs. Quincy and my guidance counselor, and they had changed my schedule. They gave me some papers to prove it.

“Boys’ Chorus?” Mrs. Brillenstein said, raising her eyebrows. She looked at my new schedule and then at me. She had a twinkle in her eye that made me nervous. “You want to be a singer, Mr. Garraty? Have you ever thought about taking Drama I?”

I shook my head. “No way, Mrs. B,” I said, taking my papers back from her. “I can’t act to save my life.”

She smiled at me. She had a nice smile, but it didn’t make me feel any better. She looked like she could be one of us, not a teacher. She dressed like a student, too, but in a classy way. “Don’t sell yourself short, Mr. Garraty,” she said softly. “You might have some hidden talents you don’t know about.” She paused and then said in a louder voice, “You’re lucky you didn’t lose those papers on your way here. I was about to mark you absent. Now go sit down – I have some announcements to make before you go to your first class.”

Praise for Reunion: Coda

This novel is a lyrical story of new love interwoven with a story of acceptance of love lost and self-forgiveness. In his mid-thirties, Professor Jim Garraty is lucky in many ways. His dream of teaching history has come true. His books enjoy mild success. At the same time, he’s smarting from a painful divorce.

One evening, as he’s enjoying a drink at a bar, a woman with a full book bag approaches him and asks, “Is this seat taken?” She’s a stranger, but there’s something familiar about her, something that summons memories from long ago.

Alex writes in lush tones, where New York City’s winter gray skies give way to warmth inside apartments. The sun casts long, golden rays and deep shadows. Big band and orchestral music play large roles in the book, setting the mood for joy and reverence.

Another theme is regret over bad choices, missed opportunities, and forgiveness for falling short. – Denise Longrie, Amazon Reviewer

I won’t go into the details of the plot because with books like this one giving away too much can ruin the experience for other readers. But I will say there are some beautiful moments, some heavy moments, some thoughtful moments and most importantly the plot deals with the complex nature of relationships that humans have with one another.

Pooja Gudka, author, blogger, and Amazon reader

Firstly, the writing was excellent. I felt drawn in from the moment I began reading and I think it helped that I was already familiar with the characters. I appreciate that his writing is incredibly intelligent and well done without crossing the line into being pretentious.

I thought the themes that Alex Diaz-Granados chose to explore were very meaningful. Lost love, loss in general, being stuck in the past/memories of the past are things we can all relate to.

I really enjoy the way Alex creates characters because they very much feel like real people. They have flaws and they have redeeming qualities just as most of us do.

I won’t go into the details of the plot because with books like this one giving away too much can ruin the experience for other readers. But I will say there are some beautiful moments, some heavy moments, some thoughtful moments and most importantly the plot deals with the complex nature of relationships that humans have with one another. We crave love, social interactions and connections yet when we achieve them things are often more complicated then we realise.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Reunion: Coda by Alex Diaz-Granados. I had pretty high hopes for this book and he delivered. If you enjoy a poignant, thoughtful and well written book- this one is for you. I highly recommend it. And if you haven’t read the first book in the series please do as it will help you understand the plot of this one much better. – Pooja Gudka, Amazon Canada Reviewer

Annotation: High School as Emotional Archive

In Reunion: Coda, the homeroom vignette with Mrs. Brillenstein[1] exemplifies how adolescence is remembered not as a golden age, but as a living archive of moments that echo forward. Jim’s embarrassment at mistaking his teacher for a student, his lateness, and the nervous humor of her raised eyebrow are grounded in the realism of high school life—awkward, ordinary, and formative. Yet the memory is reframed with warmth: the Little Theater, the auburn-haired teacher who could pass as one of them, the twinkle in her eye.

This dual tone—lived awkwardness in the moment, affectionate laughter in hindsight—captures the balance between realism and nostalgia. Mrs. Brillenstein’s gentle encouragement (“Don’t sell yourself short”) becomes more than a teacher’s line; it is an invitation motif, a gesture of trust that resonates with later invitations in Jim’s life, from Maddie’s dance to Kelly’s choice. The scene reminds us that high school is not romanticized here, but preserved as emotional inheritance: a place where small gestures of recognition and encouragement ripple into adulthood.

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[1] Mrs. Brillenstein is based on Billie Bernstein, who taught English and Drama classes at South Miami Senior High during my years there. She was replaced as an acting teacher by Naema Perry at the start of the 1982-83 school year.