Finishing a long game after taking a month break in the middle

I took a month off a 70-hour RPG and came back with absolutely no memory of what half the characters wanted. The quest log technically records everything, but reading twenty entries makes it feel like homework. Restarting would erase thirty hours of progress. I've begun wandering through a familiar town, doing a side quest and letting the systems come back gradually. How do you re-enter a huge game without starting over or spoiling the story with a recap video?