Did I Ever Tell You? reads like a novel but is an unforgettable true story.

Genevieve (Gwen) Kingston was just eleven years old when her mother passed away, leaving behind a chest filled with gifts and letters to celebrate the milestones of Gwen’s life and each of her birthdays until age thirty.

When Did I Ever Tell You? opens, just three packages remain: engagement, marriage, and first baby. Tracing Gwen’s coming-of-age, the book reveals a treasure hunt, with each gift and letter unveiling more about her mother, her family, and—ultimately—herself.

Did I Ever Tell You? is a riveting book filled with unexpected twists and powerful life lessons. Through her mother’s fierce and courageous love, Gwen was granted the tools not only to move through grief but to cherish life.

For as her mother says in one of her letters: “love is stronger than death.”

As I aged out of childhood and into adolescence, I became a mama’s girl. I grew to share my mom’s love of poetry, snow-capped mountains, romantic comedies, and throwing themed parties, among a million other qualities that have only become more apparent with time.

Genevieve (Gwen) Kingston will only ever know the mother of her youth. When Gwen was 11 years old, her mom died after a years-long battle with cancer, leaving her a whole motherless life ahead of her. Her only salve is that her mom left gifts for Gwen to open to mark life’s milestones—her next decade of birthdays, the day she gets her driver’s license, all the way through her first child.

But of course, it’s not enough. Gwen struggles to grow around the shape of her mother’s absence. She becomes frustrated and agitated, clinging to her youth, feeling rudderless as she approaches the question of college and what to do with the long, lonely stretch of life still to lead without her mother by her side.

In this aching memoir, Kingston paints a beautiful portrait of her mom, whose tenderness and absolute determination to live as long as possible broke my heart. Did I Ever Tell You? is an engaging and emotional coming-of-age story about the healing power of art. And it is a reminder that those we love live on in all of us.