I will never say that I know what a person is experiencing after losing someone. Everyone's experience and their process of handling death and grief is not the same. As I read this book, I can say that I experienced some of same things Peg experienced with the passing of her mom. It brought up so many memories, especially during this time of the year. I will take what I’ve learned from this book and apply it to my life.

A mother’s love never dies.
I was 29 years old when I suddenly lost my mom to a heart attack . I was devastated and lost in this world. This was so hard for me and at the same time I had to stay strong for my kids and guide them through their grief. I am still grieving, but I can say that I always reflect on the memories, pictures and watch videos of my mom talking, laughing and dancing. I miss my mom dearly.

The description start off asking, “If your mom is dead, is she still your mom?” Yes, she is still my mom. There is no relationship like no other and no one could ever replace my mom.

If you still have you mom, please love on your mom and cherish every moment with her.

"If your mom is dead, is she still your mom?"

This memoir of early mother loss takes you through the author's grief, struggle with her own identity as a wife and mother, and at times even her resentment and sense of betrayal at being cut off from her mother by her dad's remarriage and adoption by her stepmother. This book gives voice and validation to the way adults so often mishandle childhood loss, in particular parent loss, but ultimately shows the author's path to healing.

The writing in this initially felt very formal and emotionless, but that soon felt intentional and representative of the author's journey. Instead, that formality and lack of emotion highlighted the way this event in her life was treated when it first happened in her childhood. I loved this reading experience and plan to purchase a hardcopy to re-read.

I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley and Books Forward Audiobooks.

The author lost her mother at age 7 and immediately stepped into the role of responsible child. Her father remarried when she was 11, and her stepmother relied on the author to act as an adult, watching her baby half-brother and helping around the house, even as the stepmother began to insist on erasing Conway's mother's memory and presence from the house. This memoir centers on the author's grief, how the trauma of early motherloss manifested in her behavior and her relationships, and her path toward healing.

Some of her scenes and reflections on parental illness and loss rang true for me, as did her early motherhood struggles. Other scenes felt like they might have been interesting for the author (many scenes about going through her mother's items) but perhaps should have been edited out for a wider audience. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Books Forward audiobooks for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.