Taking Care: A Daughter's Memoir

by Emilie Clothier Harting

This literary memoir spans a lifetime, taking the reader from the emotional coming of age of a girl in the aftermath of her mother’s mysterious death through the life of a woman who navigates later middle age with her mother’s lessons. It explores how attitudes toward suicide have changed from secrecy and shame to compassion since the middle of the twentieth century because of advances in medicine; how a suicide, especially one kept secret, can affect a family; how memories of a person can form a legacy for survivors.

154 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 15, 2025

Reviews

[Emilie Clothier]

This literary memoir takes the reader from the poignant coming-of-age of a girl grappling with her mother’s enigmatic death to the introspective life of a woman navigating middle age with her mother’s lessons. It explores how societal perceptions of suicide have evolved from secrecy and shame to compassionate understanding since the mid-20th century, and the profound effects on those left behind.