Based on her Modern Love piece (She Put her Unspent Love in a Cardboard Box) this extraordinary memoir tells the astonishing story of a mothers last gifts to her daughter and the wisdom and love she bestowed upon her from beyond the grave.Genevieve (Gwen) Kingstons mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer when Gwen was just three years old. Defying the odds she lived another eight years--during which time she filled a chest with gifts and letters to Gwen and her brother Jamie for every major milestone and birthday through age thirty. The day Gwen got her drivers license. The day she graduated from high school. Gwen is now in her thirties and when Did I Ever Tell You? begins three unopened boxes remain: engagement marriage and first baby. Two decades after her passing Gwens mothers extraordinary efforts created a lifelong conversation beyond the grave. Did I Ever Tell You? is Crying in H Mart meets The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs. This is not just a gorgeously written mother-daughter story. Its also the story of a family riven by grief and mental illness and a story of a young womans navigation through both. Its a book about family and legacy; and its one that emphatically declares as Gwen mother does in a particularly powerful letter that Love is stronger than death.
