They Left Us Everything: A Memoir - Hardcover

Johnson, Plum

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399184090 ISBN 13: 9780399184093

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2016

Synopsis

A warm, heartfelt memoir of family, loss, and a house jam-packed with decades of goods and memories.

After almost twenty years of caring for elderly parents--first for their senile father, and then for their cantankerous ninety-three-year old mother--author Plum Johnson and her three younger brothers have finally fallen to their middle-aged knees with conflicted feelings of grief and relief. Now they must empty and sell the beloved family home, twenty-three rooms bulging with history, antiques, and oxygen tanks. Plum thought: How tough will that be? I know how to buy garbage bags.

But the task turns out to be much harder and more rewarding than she ever imagined. Items from childhood trigger difficult memories of her eccentric family growing up in the 1950s and '60s, but unearthing new facts about her parents helps her reconcile those relationships, with a more accepting perspective about who they were and what they valued.

They Left Us Everything is a funny, touching memoir about the importance of preserving family history to make sense of the past, and nurturing family bonds to safeguard the future.

About this title

Review:

Praise for They Left Us Everything

"Anyone who has grieved at the death of an aging parent after months of being a dedicated caregiver will relate to this poignant memoir written from the heart. . . . It's a candid, honest look at a relevant topic."--The Columbus Dispatch

"They Left Us Everything will give you goosebumps. It's the rare baby boomer [who] won't see herself inside Johnson's story. . . . This book will touch a nerve like no other, especially if you're a boomer with an elderly parent in need of care. Bring tissues, and bring your heart. They Left Us Everything is a jewel."--Courier & Press

"Generous and heartfelt, Johnson's book offers an intimate look at family and especially mother-daughter connections. It is an uplifting affirmation of human relationships and the cycle of life itself. A warmly candid memoir of navigating family, aging, and death."--Kirkus Reviews

"[They Left Us Everything] is the kind of slim, unassuming memoir that hits you deep in the gut . . . Amid the scraps of paper left in jacket pockets, family photos and pieces of furniture, part of the "everything" our parents leave us with are our memories of them, good and bad. Perhaps figuring out what to do with them is as close to a manual for grief as we get."--National Post

"Johnson writes with clarity, wit and a powerful descriptive voice that makes the rambling family home she moves back into for 16 weeks a character in itself."--NOW Toronto

"A fascinating and delightful story - a satisfying and thought-provoking book."--The Parry Sound North Star

"Each word of They Left Us Everything is heartfelt and moving. We are privy to Johnson's emotional journey to the point that it feels like she is part of our own family. Her story lingers inside, touching the soul."--newz4u.net

"At times heartbreaking and at others hysterically funny . . . the book's descriptive prose brings [the] places and people to life and poignantly conveys the quasi-spiritual journey that helps Johnson overcome her grief."--Publishers Weekly

"[Johnson] takes you along on a journey that is emotional, humorous, and candid."--Newstalk 1010

About the Author:

Plum Johnson is an award-winning writer who lives in Toronto. She had an American mother and a English father whose compromise was to raise their children as Canadians. Growing up on the shores of Lake Ontario, they made annual pilgrimages by car down Route 15 to Richmond, Virginia, stopping to read every historical marker along the way. They Left Us Everything was longlisted for the Leacock Medal for Humour, shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize, and was the winner of the RBC Taylor Prize for nonfiction.

About this edition

• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0399184090
• ISBN 13: 9780399184093
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288