Thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for the ebook. This is a lovely book that the author goes out of her way to state over and over that this is not a memoir about her mother who has recently passed away, but I think she, and we, realize that it is. She travels around London, taking in museums and plays and remembering trips she made here with her mother, which opens the floodgates of memories of the full life of a woman she loves and misses. The book has intelligence and wit scattered on every page.

In this moving tribute to her mother, Elizabeth McCracken layers ordinary moment upon ordinary moment, resulting in a surprisingly complex portrait of both her mother and herself as a writer. This beautiful book is unlike anything else I have ever read. I would describe it as unique and unforgettable. It will make you think about and appreciate your own mother, while you also enjoy the beauty of the words themselves.

Yet another gloriously wonderful book by insightful and deeply moving and funny writer Elizabeth McCracken. This memoir that the writer keeps insisting is not a memoir about her recently deceased mother that is not really about her recently deceased mother is outstanding. This wise book is almost a long eulogy to the author’s very lively, very inspiring mother. This book is a must read.