Wars eventually end.
The ties to your mother do not.
COMING SUMMER 2026
About Margaret
Margaret Whitford's work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and appears in Water~Stone Review, Brevity, Under the Gum Tree, and other publications. Before turning to writing, she spent two decades in the nonprofit sector, including ten years focused on social justice. A dedicated Francophile, she and her husband divide their time between Massachusetts and a small village in Provence.
About the Book
The History We Carry explores the bond between a mother and daughter—an emotionally complex relationship that endures despite being threatened by a traumatic past. This memoir will resonate with daughters everywhere who recognize that to truly understand themselves and the patterns of their lives, they must first understand their mothers and the forces that shaped them.
Essay
My mother died on a winter evening in Massachusetts. In Paris at the time, I arrived in Boston less than twenty-four hours after her death. It might have been otherwise. I could have chosen to go to her when she was first hospitalized. I could have postponed my trip to France, or once I'd arrived there, I could have departed as soon as I learned my mother had entered hospice instead of delaying by two days. I could have gone to my mother without waiting for her to ask for me.
In the days and months after she died, two questions haunted me...