‘The Art of Reassembly: A Memoir of Early Mother Loss and Aftergrief’ is a touching memoir that explores the impact of the loss of a parent and lifelong lasting impacts. Although this book is a memoir, the writing style is narrative as the author takes us back to her childhood, remembering the loss of her mother, the change in her family to include a step-, and later adoptive, mother as well as the recurring ways that unprocessed grief and emotions pop up throughout later life. Honest, open, vulnerable and full of compassion, the events in this book feature a reflective quality of a memoir, but also share a story of loss and healing that could be well-received by a wide audience. The writing is immersive and anyone who has been touched by loss will no doubt connect to moments in the book, whether it’s trying to navigate the best way of sharing loss with children or the family dynamics around managing an estate. An enlightening, heartfelt and cathartic memoir about life-changing loss and healing.
The Art of Reassembly: A Memoir of Early Mother Loss and Aftergrief Synopsis
If your mom is dead, is she still your mom? At twenty-five—nearly two decades after losing her mother to breast cancer as a little girl—an accident on a downtown street unleashes startling emotional reactions in Peg Conway, and this question starts to percolate. She comes to understand what she’s experiencing as long-buried childhood grief, and as she marries and becomes a mother herself, Peg’s intense feelings challenge her to offer herself compassion. Gradually she confronts how growing up surrounded by silence in a family that moved on from sorrow had caused her to suppress her mother’s memory for far too long. Ultimately, after excavating all the layers, Peg finds her mom again, and in the process discovers that truth, no matter how painful, heals.
