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Deborah's daughter, Bianca, is diagnosed at the age of nineteen with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE. Facing uncertainty in her future over the next seven years, Bianca tries to live as normally as any young woman would, attending college while surrendering to continuous hospitalizations for treatment and care of her incurable medical condition. The recession of 2008 forces Deborah and her husband to make difficult decisions and Deborah finds work and moves to New York City, splitting her time between both homes to see her family. Then in December of 2010 as Deborah prepares to head home to Atlanta once more to help Bianca with another routine hospital test, she receives a phone call from her son bearing the sad news of Bianca's sudden passing. Plunged into despair Deborah faces her grief head on, turning to her diary to channel her private thoughts and emotions as a way to ease the pain from the loss of her firstborn child.
From birth to her daughter's untimely death, Wallace chronicles the memories, hopes, fears and joys of Bianca's short life. In this unflinching and deeply personal memoir, Wallace invites us to share in the memory of her daughter, of her "butterfly angel." She juxtaposes the collection of diary entries and highlights of memorable moments with personal meditations of what they mean to her today. Through her book, she reflects on motherhood, her relationship with her daughter and how Bianca's life and death has influenced nearly everyone connected to her and beyond. It is both haunting and touching as Wallace gifts us with hers and Bianca's stories, offering a voice, compassion, and guidance to anyone dealing in matters of life and loss.