My Mother's Gift - Steffanie Edward.

 Can your heart belong somewhere that you’ve never called home?

When Erica gets a phone call to say her mother, Ione, is ill in St Lucia, she knows she must go to her. Though the island – the place of her mother’s birth – is somewhere that Erica has never seen as her homeland.

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, her once-immaculate house is now dirty and messy, and she’s refusing help from anyone but family. And Erica knows she must stay with her, even though it means leaving everything else behind.

What she doesn’t know is that – even as her mother’s memories get worse – Ione still has a final gift for her daughter. Because the unspoken secrets of their past are about to emerge, changing everything Erica thought she knew about her mother, her home, and who she really is…

A captivating tale of grief, love, and what it means to find home, perfect for fans of Andrea Levy, Jojo Moyes and Amanda Prowse.

Author Bio:

Steffanie Edward was born in St Lucia, brought up in London and now straddles between the two.

Anancy, Crick-crick and other Caribbean folk stories have been a part of her life since childhood. In her late teens she enjoyed reading Susan Howatch and books on slavery. Her absolute favourite reads have been Wild Seed by Octavia E Butler, and Woman At Point Zero by Naawal El Saadawi.

Her writing career started with short stories, five of which have been published. Her first attempt at writing a novel was over twenty years ago, whilst living and working in Abu Dhabi. That novel, Yvette, didn’t make it into print, but the main protagonist, Yvette, has muscled her way into Steffanie’s debut novel, This Other Island.

https://www.saedward.com/

https://twitter.com/EdwardsaEdward

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B09QL7J4RSsocial

My Review

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.