Our final book of the year is Night Into Light, Diane Esguerra’s affecting but uplifting account of her quest to scatter the ashes of her half-Colombian son, Sacha, in South America.
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.
As Marina Cantacuzino, author of Forgiveness, says: ‘This beautifully written memoir charts Diane’s personal anguish as a once powerful and vibrant young man is lost to the full-on white-knuckle ride of heroin addiction.’