FINALIST FOR THE CHAUTAUQUA PRIZE
Named a Best Memoir of 2025 (So Far) by BookPage and Real Simple * “A beautiful story about an extraordinary mother’s gift of love and hope.” —Jeannette Walls, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle * “Candid...Heartbreaking...Illuminating.” —Oprah Daily
From “a writer who’s absolutely going places” (Roxane Gay), a “bewitching...innovative” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) debut memoir about a mother-daughter relationship across cycles of poverty, separation, and illness, exploring how we forge identity in the face of imminent loss.
When Erika Simpson was growing up, her mother loomed large, almost biblical in her life. A daughter of sharecroppers and middle child of ten, her origin story became a Genesis. Leaving home and a cheating husband while pursuing higher education, her path felt like an Exodus. Her rules for survival, repeated like commandments, guided Erika’s own journey into adulthood. And the most important rule? Sallie Carol always preached the power of testimony—which often proved useful in talking her way out of a bind with bill collectors.
But where does a mother’s story end and a daughter’s begin? In this brave, illuminating memoir, Erika offers a joint recollection of their lives as they navigate the realities of destitution often left undiscussed. Her mother’s uncanny ability to endure Job-like trials and manifest New Testament–style miracles made her seem invincible. But while our parents may start out as gods in our lives, through her mother’s final months and fifth battle with cancer, Erika captures the moment you realize they are just people.
This gorgeously rendered story of a mother’s life through her daughter’s eyes weaves together a dual timeline, pulling inspiration from both scripture and pop culture as Erika moves through grief to a place of clarity where she can see who she is without her mom—and because of her.
