Read by Myra Platt

As Hannah Pearl's memories of her 1940 escape to England from war-torn France come to the foreground of her consciousness, her memory of her more recent American life, including her relationships with her daughter and granddaughters, is almost erased. Her daughter, Miranda, attempts to bring her mother into the present and the daily activities of family life, yet finds herself instead pulled into Hannah's unresolved past. Miranda's daughters confront the shadows of history in their own ways. Fiona, content with her life as a new mother, tries to ignore the ghostly presence of Hannah's family who perished in the war, while Ida clings to Hannah's revelations as if they form a lifeline. Facing the mystery of Hannah's unspoken memories, each woman must ask how well anyone can know the inner life of another person. "A lovely, moving book-elegant in its economy, delicately powerful. Chessman beautifully captures the rich relationship between model and painter." "For me, it achieves the sublime." "Chessman moves deftly between simple language and lyrical passages…A pleasure to remember." "Finely crafted…Chessman creates a lovely if precious world filled with snapshots, letters, and internal dialogue." "Chessman writes with understanding about the painful changes of advanced age. She evokes strong emotions, capturing the anguish and loss of those aware of the present and the confusion and disorientation of those who live in the present but exist in the past. Well read by Myra Platt, this story is exquisite." "Told through the voices of these four women, the novel intricately reveals the fleetingness of memory and the delicate lacework of love between mothers and daughters. This is a lovely and poignant story to savor."

Mode of access: World Wide Web