Poppy and Rose used to be close as sisters could be—until everything went wrong. Now in their forties, they haven’t spoken in years. But when their vivacious, glamorous, powerhouse of a mother dies, they are both faced with the shock of grief. However, their mother was not one to go shrinking into the night. No, their mother, Andrea, has left them a project to work on together: a sort of scavenger hunt through their lives, which she calls the A to Z of Everything. Her final wish: to heal the fractured relationship between her daughters that broke her heart.
A is for Ashes. C is for champagne. D is for Daddy Issues. But when they get to F for Forgiveness, can they make a start, even when they can barely look at each other?
With Andrea’s wicked sense of humor and wild stories from her acting career, she has left the quest in a series of boxes filled with letters, recordings, videos, mementos, and instructions.
From Liverpool to London and even Paris, the sisters follow the trail toward a glimmer of hope: despite loss, there is room for laughter, love, and healing—and for second chances.
About The Director
My Review
This is about Andrea, a once-successful actress and devoted mother whose life is overshadowed by one heartbreaking reality: her daughters, Rose and Poppy, have been estranged for seventeen years after a painful betrayal. Now facing terminal illness, Andrea is determined to reunite them. Her solution is an A–Z list of twenty-six tasks for the sisters to complete together after her death — small, meaningful moments mixed with bigger challenges, including the question of whether to search for the father they’ve never known.
The premise is emotional and full of promise, and there are genuinely moving moments as the sisters confront old wounds and long-buried resentment. Some tasks are touching and even uplifting, especially those rooted in shared memories. However, I did feel that twenty-six challenges was a little excessive, and at times the story leaned heavily into sadness.
That said, Debbie Johnson captures the messy complexity of family beautifully. While not my favourite of her novels, the emotional payoff and sense of healing by the end made the journey worthwhile and ultimately hopeful.
Link To Purchase
My Sanctuary 