She Left Me the Gun by Emma Brockes

Emma knew that some mystery lurked in her mother’s past. She had once told her ‘One day I will tell you the story of my life and you will be amazed.’ But 10 year old Emma was too young at the time and the full story was never revealed during the rest of her tranquil upbringing in the English Home Counties.

Periodically, her mother would receive letters from half-siblings still living in South Africa and tell her tales about the wildlife and the weather. But Emma sensed there were certain blanks and omissions where there ought to be family stories. And she never knew the reason why, one day, her mother had packed all her belongings (including her gun) into a suitcase and emigrated all alone at the age of thirty.

It was only when she and her father were mourning her mother’s death that 28 year old Emma decided it was time to find out more. As a journalist, she used her investigative skills to uncover documents revealing the family’s dark and dysfunctional past. Talking with her relatives in South Africa left her with a deep respect for the strength and determination of her mother and illustrated just how much she had been protected from its painful legacy. 

This is a moving and well-written personal story, and Brockes has told it with much wisdom and compassion.

Reviewed by Spot

Check our Catalogue and reserve online:   She Left Me the Gun by Emma Brockes, 2013 
        
Emma Brockes talks about writing her mother's story: