A review by heykellyjensen
Ephemera by Briana Loewinsohn

This memoir mixes a story of family trauma and mental illness with a little bit of fabulism to create a moving portrayal of how nature and nurture, while intertwined, cannot and do not fully encapsulate the human experience. The main character, presumably Briana, lost her mother to mental illness as a child, and the story starts with her adulthood and moves into that past, exploring how she as a young girl never understood what made her mother sad, hopeless, and angry. But through the magic of plants and nature, the young girl becomes a young woman who begins to better understand the complexities of soil composition, nutrients, and water needs of various species. She's able to then apply that to better understanding that there may never have been answers or solutions to her mother's illness. 

The soft palate of greens, creams, and browns adds to the ambiance and mood of the book, without making it feel maudlin.