Joan Z. Rough is a visual artist, poet, and nonfiction writer. Her poems have been published in a variety of journals, and are included in the anthology Some Say Tomato, edited by Mariflo Stephens. Her first book, Australian Locker Hooking: A New Approach to a Traditional Craft, was published in 1980. Her blog can be found at www.joanzrough.com.

When her alcoholic and emotionally abusive mother’s health declines, Joan Rough invites her to move in with her—and for the next seven years, they both struggle to maintain their own privacy and independence. Rough longs to be the “good daughter,” helping her narcissistic mother face the reality of her coming death. But her mom, convinced she will live forever, does everything she can to remain in control of her own life. When repressed memories of childhood abuse by her mother arise, Rough is filled with deep resentment and hatred toward the woman who birthed her. And when her mother finally dies, she is left with a plastic bag of her mother’s ashes and a diagnosis of PTSD. What will she do with them?

Courageous and unflinchingly honest, Scattering Ashes is a powerful chronicle of letting go of a loved one, a painful past, and fear—a journey that will bring hope to others who grapple with the pain and repercussions of abuse.