A young woman takes a leave of absence for her job at the Smithsonian to return to her Florida home to care for her mother with beginning dementia. While there, she discovers secrets involving her father's death and an understanding why her mother has been so distant to her since, then . A beautifully written story about families and what connects them. A must read for readers of women's fiction.

Lori Mae Morrow leaves her job at the Smithsonian to return to her home in northern Florida when her younger brother pleads with her to come back to help with their rapidly declining mother. With her mother in a nursing home, Lori is left to sort through the detritus of her mother’s life. She finds the normal, small reminders of a life lived, along with a note from a woman Lori does not know. The note refers to Lori’s father, Boyd’s death. Long presumed a suicide by drowning in the marsh when Lori was a child, the note offers hints that his death may have been something more sinister. Lori sets out to uncover the truth about her father, trying to get information from her mother, who may or may not remember what really happened to her father. This is a beautifully written story about family, memory and loss