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Did I Ever Tell You?: A Memoir by Genevieve Kingston

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lyonslb's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

bree_mck's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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okiecozyreader's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I really loved this memoir. I had to spread it out over some time though, because it is a lot to take (as cancer stories often are). Genevieve has been through a lot - suicide, depression and of course, a long struggle watching her mother suffer with cancer. Her mother was not supposed to live long, but year after year, the family does every thing they can to take care of each other.

At the same time, her mother left her so many gifts. She got a trunk that she filled with special notes and gifts for her birthdays (maybe up to age 30?) and for special occasions -her first date, getting her period, getting married, having a family. She shares her thoughts and fears about many of these things after watching struggles in herself and her family.

The author reads the memoir for the audiobook and I enjoyed listening. I think this story has so much hope - between a mother and a daughter, that even in a tough time, her mother left her such a gift of presence (at times when she knew she wouldn’t be there).

“For ten years I lived on scraps of information about my mother. Laying objects and letters and anecdotes together in the shape of the person I’d lost. I spent time with her friends because I loved them but also because at any moment one of them might see something a tree, a restaurant, a look on my face that reminded them of her. “Did I ever tell you,” they’d begin. And I would have one more memory to add to my collection. “Did I ever tell you” had became my five favorite words. They signaled that I’d been transported, carried on the magic of someone else’s words, into the past.” Part 3

“Yes, … That’s what grief is like. Like there is another version of yourself that’s lost, but you keep carrying it around with you.” Part 3

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