Heartbreaking account of a woman who lost her husband, 2 sons, and her parents in the 2004 tsunami diaster. The writing is poignant and the heartbreak is real. This isn't a glossed over hollywood version of someone coming through an unthinkable disaster and finding peace at the end of the tragedy. For Sonali there probably will never be any peace.

This is a courageous telling of truth. Her thoughts are not pleasant. They don't have to be. I have seen a lot of written comments that she was mean, selfish, etc. I have no idea if these statements are true.
Many have also written that she didn't reach out to other survivors or talk about their pain. This is HER own personal story. It is not about altruism or sharing grief; she has been desperately trying to not feel anything since that day. Why do some need to negate pain and look for happy endings?

She is human. She has been a part of a tragic unthinkable event that most of us could never begin to fathom. She writes how everything is a memory of a life that was once and never will be again. In just reading her account of the everyday associations that trigger memories of a family, a normalcy, a life no longer recognizable, I was in awe of her honesty. She does not sugar coat her actions or her thoughts. She tells the truth. She could have lied and said I tried to save everyone or I have moved on but then she could have written a fiction novel too. This is honest raw grief and survival when you can't understand why you're still here. It would be the same grief as someone losing their entire family in a fire or a car accident. It is loss beyond what the human mind can fathom.

This book will stay with me forever. It opened my eyes to everything that holds a memory.