‘Compelling and heartbreaking’ Ann Napolitano

A deeply moving memoir of a young daughter, her dying mother – and the trail of letters and gifts she left behind.

‘Her messages met me like guideposts in a dark forest; if her words couldn’t point the way, at least they offered the comfort of knowing someone had been there before’

Ten days before Gwen Kingston turned twelve, her beloved mother – with whom she shared a birthday – died. She left behind two chests – one for Gwen and one for her brother – filled with lovingly wrapped presents and letters marking the milestones she would miss: driver’s licences, graduations and every one of their birthdays until the age of thirty. Each gift a chance to reach back into the past and, for the briefest moment, hear her voice again.

Over the last twenty years, the chest of treasures has travelled with Gwen across a continent, from state to state and apartment to apartment, growing lighter with each passing birthday. And now, just three gifts remain . . .

In this beautiful and heart-rending memoir, Gwen describes growing up in the shadow of loss, guided by what her mother left behind. Woven in is her mother’s own story, and that of their whole family – tragedies foreseen and unforeseen, paths taken and not taken. It’s about a mother’s love for her daughter, but more than that, it is a story of marriage, family, inheritance and everything that shapes a life.