âGripping and true in all ways. This fine, affecting memoir will stay with me for a very long time.ââMeg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion
âIn this vividly written memoir novelist OâHara shares a painful but ultimately beautiful account of her daughter Caitlinâs life with cystic fibrosis. . . . Her compelling story will resonate with anyone seeking a light in the darkest depths of grief.ââLibrary Journal
In the vein of The Year of Magical Thinking and Beautiful Boy, an emotionally raw and inspiring memoir that illuminates a motherâs grief over the loss of her adult child and considers the hope of soulful connections that transcend the boundary of life and death.
When their only child was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at the age of two, Maryanne OâHara and her husband were told that Caitlin could live a long life or be dead in a matter of months. Thirty-one years later, Caitlin lost her battle with this devastating disease following an excruciating two-year wait on the transplant list and a last-minute race to locate a pair of healthy lungs.
The sudden spiral of events left Maryanne in an existential crisis, searching to find an answer to the eternal question: Why we are here? During her final years, Caitlin had become a source of wisdom and comfort for her motherâthe partner with whom she shared a deep spiritual quest to understand what it meant to have a soul. After Caitlinâs passing, Maryanne began to notice signsâpoignant, persistent synchronicities that seemed to lean toward proof of Caitlinâs enduring presence.
Weaving together a series of interconnected meditations with illuminating glimpses of life rendered via text messages, e-mails, and journal entries, Little Matches is a profound reflection on life and death, motherhood, the pain of chronic uncertainty, and finding inspiration in the unexpected sparks that light our way through the darkness.