Her mother has been gone almost a year, and now our unnamed narrator, a writer, walks the streets of London and reflects on her mother and their relationship. She had been larger than life—witty, generous, obstinate, driven to overcome any difficulty—and a central force in this writer's world. All she can think to do is tell the remarkable story of her mother's life—but how can she, without violating her mother's near pathological sense of privacy? A Best Book of the Year for The New Yorker, Washington Post, NPR, and Oprah Daily, Elizabeth McCracken's novel considers the very nature of writing, memory, and art.

"Her words create an exquisite alchemy…. Is this book a novel or is it a memoir? It matters not at all. With every vital, potent sentence, McCracken conveys the electric and primal nature of that first fundamental love."—NYTBR

"Defies description. Just read it…. Page by page, it's the quiet story of an adult child mourning a parent. As a whole, it's a map of how to love someone…. With admirable candor, pragmatism and humor, McCracken gives us a confessional gift as she walks through the experience of processing loss."—Washington Post