Ten year old Emily and Ben, who is seven, struggle to make sense of their changed world after the loss of their mother to cancer. The children embark on a journey of healing and acceptance as they come to realise they can keep their mother's memory alive: that her love will stay with them always. The siblings experience a variety of emotions in the wake of their mother's death: resentment, sadness, anger. They navigate the reactions of others, such as their own friends, and friends of their mother's, which are often unsatisfactory. Emily and Ben's dad is their rock through the maelstrom of grief, and this book distinguishes itself by touching on subjects often avoided by other grief-focused books, such as when Ben asks their father if he will ever marry again. Each page of text is accompanied by a page-sized illustration, realistic and sensitive depictions of the various family members as they experience moments of grief and moments of happiness, for example, Ben wrapped in a blanket made for him by his mother, the father holding his weeping son, the family playing with bubbles in the garden. Longer text with illustrations.
Audience: Child 8 - 12 years; Adult caregiver