The Butterfly Groove

“A beautiful blend of heart and journalism, The Butterfly Groove is an ethereal portrait of innocence, loss, and a young woman’s unwavering curiosity surrounding her mother’s past. Barraco’s writing is witty and profound, and she has an undeniable skill for breathing new life into the most intimate of memories.”
—Charlee Fam, author of Last Train to Babylon

In 1999, as a twelve-year-old girl in sunny Southern California, Jessica Barraco loses her mother, Dianne, to cancer complications. Not knowing much about Dianne’s past, Jessica grows more and more curious about her mother’s story each year—especially because her immediate family does not seem to know much more about her mother than the Internet does. A decade after Dianne passes away, now armed with a journalism degree, Jessica unlocks a memory of her mother telling her that she loved her old ballroom dance partner, and she sets out on a two-year quest to find him—along with anyone else who can tell her about Dianne.

Part mystery, part coming-of-age story, The Butterfly Groove is a heart-warming exploration of how our pasts tell our truths, and how love survives all of us.

Author: Jessica Barraco

Publication Date: August 4, 2015

Categories: Fall 2015, Memoir

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About the Author

Description

“An intimate portrait of the abiding love between a mother and daughter.”
—Simon Van Booy, bestselling author of The Illusion of Separateness

“A powerful debut memoir weaving the lives of a mother and daughter. The Butterfly Groove offers a web of insights into unraveling the mysteries of being a motherless daughter. This book is a reminder that loved ones become even more alive after they are gone. Barraco remains nurtured by her mother’s wisdom, including the importance of commanding self-respect and smothering people with kindness. This book is a gem to be read in one sitting.”
—Diana Raab, Ph.D., author of Lust and Regina’s Closet: Finding My Grandmother’s Secret Journal

“There are few relationships more enigmatic than that of mothers and daughters. In The Butterfly Groove, Jessica Barraco beautifully melds her investigative instincts with a storyteller’s flair to intimately reveal the links that exist between our past and our present selves. To read this book is to know the author’s heart―and to come one step closer to knowing our own …”
—John Valeri, Hartford Books Examiner

“With compassion and insight, Jessica Barraco relates her quest to discover all she can about her mother, who died young. Heartfelt, humorous, and perceptive.”
—Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train

About the Author

Journalist by heart, marketing professional by day, and writer by moonlight, Jessica Barraco is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She published her first newspaper article at nineteen years old, after which she wrote for Elite Daily, 944 magazine, and The Denver Post. She also spent three years working at HarperCollins Publishers across all of its imprints, working on both nonfiction and fiction books. A member of the Communications Committee of Girls Write Now, a NYC mentorship nonprofit, Barraco lives in New York City.