They Left Us Everything

A Memoir

By: Plum Johnson

Narrated by: Pilar Witherspoon

A warm, heartfelt memoir of family, loss, and a house jam-packed with decades of goods and memories.

After almost 20 years of caring for elderly parents - first for their senile father and then for their cantankerous 93-year-old mother - author Plum Johnson and her three younger brothers have finally fallen to their middle-aged knees with conflicted feelings of grief and relief. Now they must empty and sell the beloved family home, 23 rooms bulging with history, antiques, and oxygen tanks. Plum thought, How tough will that be? I know how to buy garbage bags. But the task turns out to be much harder and more rewarding than she ever imagined.

Items from childhood trigger difficult memories of her eccentric family growing up in the 1950s and '60s, but unearthing new facts about her parents helps her reconcile those relationships, with a more accepting perspective about who they were and what they valued. They Left Us Everything is a funny, touching memoir about the importance of preserving family history to make sense of the past and nurturing family bonds to safeguard the future.

©2014 Plum Johnson (P)2016 Recorded Books

absolutely loved

this was relatable in many ways, so we'll written and heartfelt. highly recommend this beautiful story!

Deep self-knowledge through bittersweet reflection

Being related (same great-grandparents?) and acquainted with the author's brother made this story more personal than it otherwise might have been. I saw some similarities in behavior and attitudes that fascinated me.

The author's descriptions of the house, the lake, and the town urge me to visit -- or at least to study photos of them. What a wonderful environment to grow up in.

Most importantly, the growth of the author's awareness of the cycle of life, and the concomitant growth of her appreciation for her parents. Parent-child relationships can be tremendously complex. The author's vulnerable and candid reflections are inspiring and encouraging.

Thank you, Plum, for sharing your life and your love of family with me.

Wonderful Book

Wonderfully relatable story that was perfectly written and read. If I had anything negative to say it would be that the story of the dog and the car could have been left out. My only other complaint is that I wish that the book was longer. It was one of those rare ones that I didn't want to end.

An interesting, eye opening, and enjoyable book

Took me a bit of time to get into it but soon I was hooked. Loved the letters Plum’s mother wrote, the honesty of Plum’s feelings regarding her mum, the memories that things evoked.
Perhaps I’ll leave everything too.
Thanks

Strangely interesting

I read a TON of memoir and this one was...different. Kind of a memoir that illuminates the lives of the people involved through possessions. After her mother dies, Plum spends a year and a half sorting out the house, which has not changed (for the most part) since 1952 when her family bought the house. Same wallpaper, same furniture that was left in the house, ten tons of possessions dating back to the early 1800s onward.

It took me a while to get on board, but the further I got into the book, the more I liked it.