Maryanne O’Hara discusses "Little Matches: a Memoir of Finding Light in the Dark"

Join us on Sunday, October 23rd at 3 pm as we welcome Maryanne O’Hara to the store to discuss and sign Little Matches:  a Memoir of Finding Light in the Dark.  Maryanne will share her story of grief and resilience and also lead you through writing exercises for crafting legacy interviews with loved ones.

The event is free to attend though we do ask that you please wear a mask!

When their only child was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of two, Maryanne O’Hara and her husband were told that Caitlin could live a long life or be dead in a matter of months. Thirty-one years later, Caitlin lost her battle with this devastating disease after a last-minute race to locate a pair of healthy lungs. 

Maryanne was left in an existential crisis, searching to find an answer to the eternal question:  Why we are here? During her final years, Caitlin had become a source of wisdom and comfort for her mother — the partner with whom she shared a deep spiritual quest to understand what it meant to have a soul. After Caitlin’s passing, Maryanne began to notice poignant, persistent synchronicities that seemed to lean toward proof of Caitlin’s enduring presence.

Weaving together a series of interconnected meditations with illuminating glimpses of life rendered via text messages, e-mails, and journal entries, Little Matches is a profound reflection on life and death, motherhood, the pain of chronic uncertainty, and finding inspiration in the unexpected sparks that light our way through the darkness.

Maryanne O’Hara is the author of the novel Cascade. Little Matches is based on 9LivesNotes.com, a blog that Maryanne kept while her daughter, Caitlin, waited for a lung transplant. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.