They Left Us Everything

An eclectic family and their long-time family home, both rich with history and depth, provide the backdrop for a candid memoir by Johnson, a Toronto-based author, entrepreneur and publisher. Chronicling Johnson's personal journey after the death of her mother, the book follows her 16-month quest to empty the labyrinthine family home, brimming with the archaeological m%C3%A9lange of generations, and navigate the emotional fallout of their conflicted relationship. Unearthed family treasures spark memories and fill blanks, from Johnson's childhood with an authoritative British father constantly at odds with her free-spirited Southern-Belle mother to her adulthood spent caring for them as their bodies and minds deteriorated. At times heartbreaking and at others hysterically funny, Johnson's memories propel the narrative from volatile mid-century Singapore to a sprawling, colonial-era Virginia estate and beyond, but always settle back to the rambling family home on the shores of Lake Ontario; a place "seared into their bones." Though it can be undirected and chronologically disjointed, suggesting a highly reflective writing process, the book's descriptive prose brings these places and people to life and poignantly conveys the quasi-spiritual journey that helps Johnson overcome her grief. (Mar.)