Here is a deeply moving memoir of a young daughter, her dying mother - and the trail of letters and gifts she left behind. 'Her messages met me like guideposts in a dark forest; if her words couldn't point the way, at least they offered the comfort of knowing someone had been there before'. Ten days before Gwen Kingston turned twelve, her beloved mother - with whom she shared a birthday - died. She left behind two chests - one for Gwen and one for her brother - filled with lovingly wrapped presents and letters marking the milestones she would miss: driver's licences, graduations and every one of their birthdays until the age of thirty. Each gift a chance to reach back into the past and, for the briefest moment, hear her voice again. In this heart-rending memoir, Gwen describes growing up in the shadow of loss, guided by what her mother left behind.