A deeply personal memoir about recovering from bereavement, by a professional therapist and grief counsellor

A mother's journey of grief and transformation

Can a parent ever survive the death of a daughter or son? Drowning in grief and with her life in pieces, psychotherapist Diane Esguerra asks herself this question as she sets off for Peru to scatter the ashes of Sacha, her only child, at the sacred Inca citadel Machu Picchu, a place he loved.

Every step of the journey triggers memories of the young man's troubled life of abuse and addiction. As Diane makes connections with other bereaved people in the unlikeliest of settings, she also has mystical encounters that affirm her Buddhist faith and put her on a path to acceptance and healing. The fragments of her life gradually reassemble – in a more meaningful pattern than before.

By turns funny, engaging and moving, this richly coloured account of one mother's physical and spiritual journey shows it's possible not only to survive every parent's worst nightmare, but to experience growth and transformation along the way.