In July 2013, fourteen-year old singer-songwriter Georgina Anderson received the shock news that her recent ‘indigestion’ was in fact an aggressive form of liver cancer. As doctors battled to save Georgina, her mother Helen poured her thoughts and fears into the pages of a diary.
Piece by Piece is a transcript of that diary as a new member of the ‘club’ no parent wants to join. A breathtaking record of the author’s journey as a mother from that day onwards, this unforgettable book also charts the stunning reaction to Georgina’s music as celebrities and members of the public spread her story around the globe.
This memoir is Helen Victoria Anderson’s testament to her daughter’s courage. Shot through with dark humour, Piece by Piece is an honest snapshot of turbulent times which captures the strength of the human spirit in the face of the unthinkable.

Praise for Piece by Piece:

Piece by Piece is extraordinarily moving and beautifully written - there is such powerful attention to detail here that the reader is given new insight into grief and love. This memoir is a testament to Helen Anderson’s strength and courage - her honesty is unflinching: Piece by Piece demands to be read by everyone.

- Marion Husband, author of The Boy I Love trilogy, The Good Father, Say You Love Me, and Six Little Deaths

To say Piece by Piece is a moving memoir wouldn't do justice to the raw honesty on every page. I cried so many times as I read Helen's story of losing her lovely Georgina so young and trying to cope with the pain and sorrow that are with her day in, day out. Helen is a wonderful, heartfelt, descriptive writer and her grief is tangible, yet she is not only surviving every mother's worst nightmare, she is chronicling it as a life lesson for the rest of us. She is one brave lady to let us into a heart that has been through so much.

- Christine Fieldhouse, author of Why Do Monsters Come Out at Night?

Piece by Piece is more than a compelling story of death and grief. It is a story of love: the love of strangers; the love of the community and the love of an amazing family.

- Karen Charlton, author of The Detective Lavender Mysteries

As a mother who has also lost a child to cancer, I completely identify with the range of emotions which are perfectly encapsulated in Helen's memoir. The overwhelming sense of loss and longing for your child, of no longer knowing your purpose, and of trying to find a way through the pain to discover a new life which is acceptable enough for you to want to learn to live again... These are real quandaries in the tragedy of child-loss, and I believe that this book will help many people realise they are not alone, others have walked this path before, and that somehow, they too will survive.

- Leona Knox, mother of wee Oscar