One of the children had put Joy on my lap, but she jumped down as I blew my candles out. There must have been dozens of them! As I took them all in, a memory rose to the surface of my mind like a balloon floating in the sky.
“Laine,” I said. She was on the other side of the cake, watching me. “Do you remember the time you and Ben made me a birthday cake, and it was just beautiful, but you’d gotten the sugar and the salt mixed up?”
She laughed—what a lovely woman she was, my Laine—and I could tell she was happy I’d remembered. “And you insisted on eating the whole slice, smiling right through it.”
“Yes, I did.” I was smiling again now just thinking about it. “Write that one down for me, yes? So I can remember.”
“Definitely.” She stood, and I thought maybe she’d go find one of our notebooks, but instead, she came over to me. “I love you, Mom,” she said as she hugged me.
“Oh, I love you, too, dear girl,” I whispered to her. “Don’t you ever forget that.”
It’s a terrifying thing, to lose your mind, even if you know that one day you won’t be aware it’s happening anymore. And then you’ll just be . . . gone.
But as I looked around my home, my fear faded just as quickly as it had come on. There was Hadley, my gentle warrior. Piper, whose true beauty was really within. And Laine, with her generous heart. They would be with me all the way down this dark path. To go through this life and know you’re not ever truly alone—this was why a woman had children. My mother was right. Three girls: what an incredible gift.
I was loved.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This novel was inspired by my family’s experience with dementia and caregiving. As with my previous novels, I also consulted physicians and reviewed research on the topic while writing this story. Even so, Everything Must Go is very much a work of fiction and should not be used for reference purposes.
P.S. If you enjoyed Everything Must Go, please take a second to write a brief review; reviews make a world of difference in a book’s success. If you already did, thank you! Either way, thank you for taking the time to read my latest. You, dear reader, are why I write.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My deep gratitude to Jodi Warshaw, Danielle Marshall, Mikyla Bruder, Gabriella Dumpit, and the entire team at Lake Union Publishing; it’s truly a pleasure to work with you. Tiffany Yates Martin, thank you (yet again!) for your editorial guidance. Elisabeth Weed, you continue to be the absolute best. Kathleen Carter, Lucy Silag, and Suzy Leopold, thank you for helping my novels find their way to readers. Michelle Weiner and the entire team at CAA, I so appreciate your championing my work.
Writing this novel reminded me of how lucky I am to have two amazing sisters who also happen to be my closest friends. Laurel Lambert and Janette Sunadhar, thank you for always being there for me.
Lauren Bauser, Jamie Berman, Shannon Callahan, Danielle King Colby, Stefanie and Craig Galban, Katie Rose Guest Pryal, Kelly Harms, Jacob Lambert, Joe Lambert, Nicole Perrin, Stevany and Tim Peters, Alex Ralph, Sara Reistad-Long, Matt Sampson, Jane Stinson, Michelle and Mike Stone, Pam Sullivan, Suman Sunadhar, and Darci Swisher: your encouragement keeps me going.
A big shout-out to Shannon Apostle, Annie Cathryn, Heather Gaglio, Marisa Gothie, Pam Harton, Jamie Iannuzzelli, Michelle Jocson, Amy Lehmann Sklare, Annie McDonnell, Sondra Mims, Christina Powers, and Nikki Wilhelm for being such incredibly supportive readers.
JP, Indira, and Xavi Pagán, your love means the world to me.
This story is dedicated to one of the dearest friends of my youth, Rachael Br?nsink Stiles, whose light still shines bright over all who knew her.