I haven't directly had to deal with a loved one with dementia, I have had friends that have though. It's a hideous illness that just destroys the person that once was and is so hard and heartbreaking for family members to deal with. Although this isn't all that My Mother's Gift is about, it is certainly a big part of it and I think that it is very well done. We experience the pain and love that Erica experiences when her mother is in the later stages of this illness. How, like with so many debilitating conditions like this, it isn't just the person who is unwell that suffers with it.

This was a gripping read. I couldn't help but feel for Erica as she tries to deal with her mother, both in the grip of dementia now, but also their past relationship, which hasn't always been easy. This book is a bit of a rollercoaster that drags you along on an emotional journey.

It seems strange to say that I enjoyed reading such a book. But I really did. There was humour and love here and that came through clearly, making for a heartbreaking, but still really special and heartwarming read.

I really enjoyed this first book that I've read by Steffanie Edward. I'll certainly be looking out for more from her in the future.

Grab your tissues when reading this one, I was an emotional wreck! Alzheimer’s and dementia are not strangers to me, sadly. I have experienced the fear, the frustration, the sorrow. I have seen how family members are also impacted by this disease, and have seen the repercussions and pain. So far I have been fortunate enough that it has not afflicted my parents and I hope that it never does. How family members like Erica can be so strong amazes me. I am not sure I could power through and carry on the way she did, or even hold myself together. I suppose there isn’t much of a choice when you are in the situation but it is hard to predict how you would be unless you are living it yourself. I was incredibly drawn to these characters and was completely in tune with their feelings and emotions. The author did such an amazing job at pulling the readers in, or at least me. I loved the focus on family and how close they all are. I appreciated the language, customs, and other references to life on St Lucia. I think it added to the characters and story and helped envision everyone and everything more easily. I cried as soon as I started reading the letter Erica wrote to her mom and was blubbering by the end of it. It was no surprise to me to learn in the letter by the author at the end that she cares for her own mom who had Alzheimer’s. It makes perfect sense and explains how she was able to capture the raw emotion throughout the book so spot on. This was such a beautiful story and I loved it.

My Mother's Gift is a poignant tale of a mother and daughter navigating the harsh reality of Alzheimer's disease. Although I know about dementia, I hadn't really understood how it affects families. Steffanie is able to describe episodes with clarity due to having cared for her mother with Alzheimer's and her experiences come across well in the book. I was drawn in from the beginning and I felt as though I was one of the neighbours looking in. Following an urgent call from her Auntie, Erica travels back to St Lucia where her mum now lives and sees with her own eyes how much worse her mum has got for since her last visit 3 months ago. Difficult decisions have to be made - can Erica make the right one for all of them? Highly recommend this book.

Beautiful and heart wrenching story of a daughter and her mother, suffering from Alzheimer’s.

I lost my beloved Grandma to this atrocious disease. It was so hard watching a vibrant, loving and wonderful woman be succumbed to the person it made her.

Definitely touched my heart deeply in bringing up memories of the person i loved most in the world and miss everyday

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read an ARC of My Mother's Gift. My thoughts are my own. Thank you to Bookouture for allowing me to be part of the book tour for this book release as well. And, happy book birthday to My Mother's Gift, out today!

When I read the synopsis of this book, I’ll admit, I expected to find a different sort of book. One that started much earlier in her mother’s diagnosis. I didn’t expect her to be in the mid to late stages of the disease.
Having had several people in my family diagnosed with Lew Bodies Dementia, as well as Parkinson’s Disease, this book hit me hard. And after reading the Author’s Note, I now know why Edward writes as deeply as she does. She understands the disease intimately as her mother has suffered with it as well.

I enjoyed reading My Mother’s Gift for several reasons.
1) Edward writes the setting beautifully. I have never been to St. Lucia personally. However, I’ve researched it quite a bit over the years. Edward writes, again, with experience and knowledge of the destination. She makes St. Lucia come to life. I will say that I lived in Belize for a short time almost 20 years ago, and while they are definitely different destinations, because of their Creole and British heritages, they have many similarities. My Mother’s Gift brought to memory all of the amazing places I visited in Belize, as well as the Caribbean culture they both share.
2) Edward writes her main character with depth and real human emotion.
Written in first person, My Mother’s Gift provides a snapshot into the main character’s life. When done well, first person can be mirror like, challenging us all to look at our own lives and the people we love in them. I have to wonder if Edward writes herself into the novel as her main character, having been the caregiver in such a situation.
3) There are no facades in this novel, and the author does not lead you where she wants you to go. Whereas some authors are unable to create something that doesn’t feel like they are leading you to where they want you to go, Edward expertly manages this feat.
4) The mother daughter relationship plotline creates an additional problem--and catalyst--that Erica must resolve. All mothers and daughters face challenges and differences, especially in those agonizing teenage and young adult years. What’s beautiful about this book is that this relationship shows the power of a mother’s and a daughter’s love, how it can become a friendship over time and how freeing and stabilizing forgiveness is.

A Quick Word of Caution
I can’t say I favored all of the characters in this book. Two of them in particular are controversial. I was not expecting the seedy side of Mr. Frank. That threw me for sure. My Mother’s Gift also addresses the difficulties that generations of women face…whether single motherhood or choosing to remain in an unhealthy relationship. Ione and Erica’s father didn’t stay together, and she ends up with Mr. Frank, a man who cheats on her for the entirety of their relationship. Erica’s relationship to her child’s father dwindles when he leaves the country for a different life.

If you’re thinking about reading this for book club, please note that while there are certain references to God and God's will, this is a main stream novel, not a Christian novel.

Bottom Line
I liked this book for its authenticity. Steffanie Edward writes evocatively, with passion and with great detail. I don't feel that this book lags at all due to the intense situation, as well as the emotional investment I made as the reader. Be forewarned that if you have gone or are going through dementia with a family member, this book can be difficult to read at times. Otherwise, happy reading.

What a beautiful story honoring families who have had a love one suffer from Alzheimer’s. It’s heartbreaking but also very informative. My mom lost her best friend to this terrible disease and the families are truly the ones who suffer the most. Only those who have been close to someone can truly understand how slow and debilitating this disease is, changing the person you loved into someone you don’t even know. Author Stephanie Edward did an amazing job with this book.
Erica gets a call from her Auntie that her mum is unwell. She is slowing losing her memory, taking off alone, and asking about people who have passed long ago. Erica has a life away from the Island and a job she loves, but being Ione’s only daughter she must go see for herself what’s going on. At first glance her mom seems ok, she knows who Erica is right away, but quickly troubles start to show themselves. Ione wakes in the night and pulls a knife on her daughter thinking she’s an intruder, she’s asking when her partner will be home even though he’s passed long ago. Erica didn’t realize how bad things were and she’s not sure she is capable of caring for Ione on her own. It’s looking like her two week stay will have to be extended. The battle between wanting to be their for her mum and her animosity towards her mother for when she wasn’t there for her growing up makes things that much more difficult. Whatever happens Erica knows her family needs her now more then ever.

My Mother’s Gift by Steffanie Edward is a story about finding love and peace, as you grieve who the person once was. The main character, Erica gets a call in England where she now lives, from her aunt that her mother has gotten worse with her illness of Alzheimer's, where she lives in St Lucia. She knows she must go help her mother, even though their relationship has always been difficult, and St Lucia, where she grew up, is somewhere that Erica has never called home. After arriving Erica notices very quickly, her mother’s memory is fading, and she is having strange, erratic episodes. Deep down Erica knows the right thing for her mother, is to stay with her in St Lucia, uprooting her own life in England. Or Erica could bring her mother back with her to England to get proper help & assistance and allow Erica to continue with her life. Especially when her mother is rapidly dwindling away. What's the right sacrifice? What's the right answer? Do the choices she makes end up being for the safety and best for her mother, or is it more for her selfish reasons instead?

This beautifully written, but difficult novel feels more like a love story between a mother and daughter. It was told with such grace, truth, realness, & heart-twisting emotion. There are some sweet moments between mother and daughter that quickly deteriorate into manic episodes of violence and rage. Which shows how this disease can literally tear families apart. I believe it will change how one sees Alzheimer's disease, both for the sufferers and the caretakers.

TW: Alzheimer's, Dementia
My Mother's Gift is a wonderfully written novel of a daughter and her mother and their relationship where one remembers everything but the other is fading away. What decisions will the person who remembers everything take for the person who needs her the most now?
This novel is set in St. Lucia and honestly it really doesn't matter where the story takes place because the author has done such a good job of writing this novel that you are invested in this story since the beginning. The place only matters because the story has a strong family bonding with a small town vibe. The only trouble I had while reading the story were the Kwéyòl words and a glossary would have definitely helped me but it is not a big hindrance since I can google them.
This book is very emotional and a poignant read. Written with a deep understanding and empathy to both the sufferer and the caretaker My Mother's Gift will stay with me for a long time.

EXCERPT: My misgivings over Mum's condition had been rising over the last three years, along with my worry over the limited options open to me for her care. Between each of my visits to her and Auntie in St Lucia, she'd call me at all sorts of hours. More recently, the calls were to accuse me of leaving her on her own, telling me she'd been waiting ages for me to come and take her home.

'What kind of chile you are?' she'd say. 'Leaving me here like dis?'

ABOUT 'MY MOTHER'S GIFT': When Erica gets a phone call to say her mother, Ione, is ill in St Lucia, she knows she must go to her, even though their relationship has always been difficult. The island – the place of her mother’s birth – is somewhere that Erica has never called home.

Even when the plane touches down in the tropical paradise, with its palm trees swaying in the island breeze, the sound of accents so like her mother’s own calling loud in the air, Erica doesn’t find herself wanting to stay a moment longer than she has to.

But stepping into her mother’s house, she is shocked by what she finds. Her mother’s memory is fading and she is having strange, erratic episodes. Erica knows the right thing to do is to stay with her, even if it means leaving everything in England behind.

Could you uproot your whole life for the person who raised you? Can a place you’ve never felt at home ever feel like where you belong? And – as you experience loss – is it ever possible to also find love and peace?

MY THOUGHTS: I failed to connect with this read. While I appreciate what the author was trying to achieve, I thought the subject has been approached in a simplistic and superficial manner. I would have liked a lot more depth.

I had no real sense of either people or place. Descriptions of St Lucia are, at best, sketchy, and I found very little depth to the characters. We know very little about them. For example, Ione is constantly asking for her brothers and sisters, who we do know are dead. But other than that, we know nothing about them. I would have expected Ione to have related anecdotes about them as recent memory is first to be lost in the ravages of dementia, which then gradually erodes past memory. Those affected will often not recognize their children. Because the affected are living in the not recent past, they believe their children to be young, not the forty or fifty years they actually are. They will accuse their children of being imposters, perhaps of having abducted or harmed their 'real children', and become distressed and/or angry to the point where they will attack these 'strangers' in an effort to find out what they have done with the children. So, in their mind, they are also much younger, therefore their siblings are very much alive.

I do wish the author had done a lot more research into this subject. At several points I seriously considered abandoning this read. I felt disappointed and short-changed. There are a lot better books available on living with someone who has Alzheimer's.

⭐⭐

#MyMothersGift #NetGalley

I: @edwardsteffanie @bookouture

T: @EdwardsaEdward @Bookouture

#contemporaryfiction #familydrama

THE AUTHOR: Steffanie was born in St Lucia, and brought up in London. She writes mainly fiction, but has also had articles published in local newspapers. Steffanie was born in St Lucia, and brought up in London. She writes mainly fiction, but has also had articles published in local newspapers. She enjoys writing stories with strong emotional themes.

Steffanie currently lives between England and St Lucia.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of My Mother's Gift by Steffanie Edward for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my profile page on Goodreads.com or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Gut wrenching, raw and real abs yet written with so much love. The respect I have for carers of Alzheimer’s patients grew deeper after reading this story.
Erica has come back home to Saint Lucia after her Aunty calls and says she needs help caring for Erica’s mother, who was diagnosed with dementia 3 years ago. Despite Erica and her mothers tumultuous relationship, Erica leaves her life, job and her own grown daughter in England and takes on the role of full time caregiver for her mom, thinking that she’ll get things wrapped up there and bring her back to England with her. When she gets there however, she realizes that her mothers condition is much worse than she expected-her mother is volatile and doesn’t want to go to England. She wants to stay there. As we look back into their relationship in the past, it becomes clearer why Erica has issues with her mother and that makes it harder to cope when her mother lashes out at her. When her mother’s health declines even further Erica must choose between putting her in a care home or giving up her life in England for good.
The story is written with much care and respect and shed great insight to the victim of the disease as well as those around them that love them.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my review.

This was certainly a very emotional read. Especially for anyone who has had a family member suffering from dementia/memory loss. My own mother moved in with us when she began to show signs of early dementia. It was a very stressful and emotional time for my family.
The main character had to leave her life in England to take care of her mother in St. Lucia. Her mother is suffering from Alzheimers. Her mother and her have not had a good relationship in the past which makes things even more difficult for them both.
Many heartbreaking decisions have to be made.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

The story is a moving insight into a loving relationship between a mother and a daughter, which transcends the difficulties of this tragic disease. The book has a profound impact in a way that how to view people living with diagnosed dementia. Although character names are fictional, the story feels so real. It sounds like more of a “memoir” to me, because the way the main character has narrated the story has written and sounded in the perspective of the author’s personal experiences. Therefore, I find this book stunning because it is written from the heart.

Here’s an inspirational quote that I’ve took away with me and I’d like to share with you:

Dying in a familiar place, with someone or people you knew, love and who loved you, had to be the nicest way to leave the world.

Overall, this is a noteworthy novel that addresses dementia. It is a life-affirming novel about mother-daughter relationships and second chances in the family.

This book had me intrigued from the beginning. Who doesn't love their homeland when it is hot, sunny and beautiful?
As you start reading you are lured in with the beauty and then the beauty fades and things are just not what they were and things are messy.
With a fading mind lone's mother has some things to put right before the memories are lost forever........

Erica is at home when she gets a call to say that her mother is extremely ill in St Lucia and that she must rush to her bed side immediately to be able to say goodbye. Even though they have always had an extremely difficult relationship Erica is determined not to miss saying her last goodbyes to her mother

The book immediately transports you to the beautiful island breezes of St Lucia. Which is absolutely stunning. I could feel the wind flowing through my hair, I could imagination the beautiful clear blue sea smell the salty sea air and feel the sand between my toes.

When Erica steps back into her mother's childhood home she is transported back in time and is shocked to find that her mother is having strange and erratic episodes and that her memory is fading. Even through Erica desperately wants to run back to England she knows that the right thing to do is to stay with her mother no matter how difficult it gets.

It is a story about life, about what happens to your loved ones at the end of their life, about their history, your bond, loss, heartbreak, and uplifting all in one.

Oh my! This book really resonated with me. Erica has just arrived from England to her childhood home in St. Lucia. Her mother Ione, had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s several years before, but a call from Erica’s Aunt Barbara let’s Erica know it’s time she came home to see for herself what is happening.

Having had a parent, my father, go through Alzheimer’s was a very difficult thing to watch. Alzheimer’s is one of the cruelest diseases to watch someone go through. This book covered the difficult and heartbreaking decisions a family member has to make. It goes through how alone you feel when the person you love loses themselves in this horrible disease.

Steffanie Edward has written a beautiful but heartwrenching story with grace and respect. Her insight into this horrible disease is felt from the very beginning. Be sure to have tissues ready because the story of Erica and Ione will have you riding every emotion with them.

Thank you to #netgalley and #bookouture for allowing me the opportunity to read the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Uugghhhh!!! My HEART!! 😩🥺😩🤧

Erica gets a call in England where she now lives, from her Aunt that her mother has gotten worse with her illness if Alzheimer's, where she lives in St Lucia. Even though this is her Mother's home, & Erica grew up there, it's felt like anything but home for her, especially with their difficult relationship & past. But now Erica is faced with the utmost difficult decision of whether to bring her mother back with her to England to get proper help & assistance, or perhaps staying and uprooting her life back to St Lucia to look after her mother who's rapidly dwindling away and turning into someone you don't even know anymore. What's the right sacrifice? What's the right answer? Do the choices she makes end up being for the safety and best for her Mother, or is it more for her selfish reasons instead?
This book hit me so hard! I felt such a deep, personal connection with Erica & her mother's story - who suffers with Alzheimer's. My own grandfather suffered with dementia and I remember going through all the things Erica experienced with her own mother. My heart shattered over and over not just with Erica's having to handle the situations, but also how Ione, her mother, was going through this, unaware, not herself, feeling like she was losing her mind. What made me love this novel even more, was the Black African-American angle to this & a personal aspect where the author Steffanie, mentions how her own mother is suffering from this illness. This beautiful, eloquent, difficult novel was told with utmost grace, truth, realness, & heart-twisting emotion. Be prepared for needing tissues by the boxes to get through this! It's an absolute gold mine of a book that will forever change how you see Alzheimer's, both for the sufferer and sufferee's. This is a must read!


Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for this ARC.
Release date: March 22, 2022

I give this 5 / 5 Bouquets! 💐

Thanks NetGalley, Bookouture and Steffanie Edward for an ARC to review.
A heart warming emotional tale of dealing with dementia parent.
Detailed review to follow on the virtual tour next month.
Excellent read.

My Mother's Gift is a story about dealing with Alzheimer's. For me, this was a very emotional read because I had a family member that suffered from this disease, and all members of the family do suffer. I can't say that I enjoyed reading this book because it brought back some painful memories for me. That being said, it was a well-written book with likable characters. Thanks to author Steffanie Edward, Bookouture, and to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.

An emotional story of a family dealing with the effects of Alzheimer's. How much of your life would you give up to care for one who is in the latest stages of this terrible condition? A mother daughter relationship is put to the ultimate test as this family deals with this illness. Not the easiest read; Having taking care of a parent with dementia, this book brings back many memories. I have mixed feelings about recommending it.

This is a lovely yet heartwrenchng read. It was engaging the whole way through and I fell in love with the characters. It is well written with a good storyline and well developed characters that were relatable and incredibly likeable. I took them to my heart and they will stay there for a long time.