My Never Ending List

She arrived one day inside a basket, left by wolves, left by fairies; nevertheless she was welcomed and loved by Nan.  Like all children, she is embarrassed by her mother at times yet she would want no other person to wear the title “mom.”  Bay lives in a complicated world.  Her mother is accused of being a witch and some individuals don’t like their unique ways of doing things.  Bay has been trying to talk to her mother about these issues but Nan doesn’t give Bay any clear answers.  Nan has some news she really needs to tell Bay about, that she has been putting off for fifteen years.  Now that she is getting older, now is the time to tell her.  Calling on her friends from her past, Nan invites them for a visit but before she is knows it their house is full of visitors.  Oh, the stories they tell from long ago and the great times that are occurring in the house with everyone here.  Where once this house was so silent, is now alive and complete.

Celebrating birthdays are such a happy affair: a birthday feast, wine, cake, and a candle ceremony outside with tea lights, the weather does not matter.  The candles arranged in a circle (the number depending on your age), candles lit and the ceremonial birthday song.  No blowing out the candles! I loved this part.  The candles needed to go out on their own, as if blowing them out would be “blowing out the years of my life.”  Something ceremonial about the candles and the waiting for them to die down makes me feel good and warm inside.   So many parts of this book make me feel good inside.   When Nan calls up her besties and invites them over for a visit, she expected one thing and she ends up with something totally different in the end.  She was worried about Bay and her future and that was the main reason for her reaching out to her friends after so long.  When her friends arrive with luggage in hand, she starts to worry, thinking “what exactly have I done” “perhaps this wasn’t such a great idea” and Bay also has mixed thoughts since it has always been just the two of them and now the house is full of guests.  When it is time for people to leave, Nan is not ready, so much more has happened, so much more than Nan had not even anticipated or hoped.  Then we have Bay, she grows in this book. Not by leaps and bounds but maturely and deep down. She gets it; she has something to branch out from. The other woman in the book, I really wanted to do a group hug. An all-in.  One last time on the last page.  Nan got more than she hoped for and I definitely did too, I didn’t expect a memorable read from The Memory Garden but I got it. I got a great memory and a ceremonial birthday candle memory too.

I was provided a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion. Thank you NetGalley.