Did I Ever Tell You? - The most moving memoir of 2024

'[A] heartfelt memoir' New York Times'Compelling and heartbreaking' Ann NapolitanoA 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 .