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 rema
