The Garden of the Golden Children by Ashley Hutchison

There was a grey house on the hill overlooking the church with willow trees planted just for her and a wooden swing made just for her, and she never saw it again. It would be the only time in Avery’s life that she came for her. The little girl named Avery would have to leave this place of magic, and love, and family. She would remember it all bathed in the yellow and orange hues of sunset. She would remember her grandmother searching for her all over the house when they played hide-and-seek. He called her precious jewel and sugarplum. She would remember the age of her grandfather’s hands. Then she would come back inside and the two would watch as the birds flew in. She would throw bread over the fence in the backyard for the birds. But being with her family at the grey house on the hill overlooking the church with the willow trees planted just for her and a wooden swing made just for her was perfect.Īnytime she remembered it as she grew up, she would think of climbing into the sink to watch her aunt outside from the window. The little girl often wondered why her family wasn’t her mother and her new husband and her new little girl. She was with a husband and another little girl. At one time the little girl’s mother was there with them, but she had gone away. The inside was occupied by people.Ī little girl, her grandmother, her grandfather, and her aunt. The inside was occupied by hard carpet and strange floors that weren’t level.

The inside was occupied by furniture, none of which matched. It was grey on the outside, but not on the inside. A grey house on a hill overlooking a church. A house on a hill with a wooden swing made just for her. A house on a hill with willow trees planted just for her. Find a comfortable chair and prepare yourself for an emotional journey.

When Avery unravels, the book follows suit.Īlso, please know this memoir was written to be a movement, so it is best experienced in a single sitting. This sacred story is a stirring thing and ignores grammatical systems at times. The structure is just as much part of the narrative experience as the words on the page. A Map to the Stars isn’t a memoir like you’ve experienced before.

The Garden of the Golden Children by Ashley Hutchison