{"product_id":"five-days-gone-the-mystery-of-my-mothers-disappearance-as-a-child-9781501198717","title":"Five Days Gone: The Mystery of My Mother's Disappearance as a Child","description":"\u003cb\u003eNOMINATED FOR THE 2019 NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2019\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eINTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAcclaimed \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Vanishing Velazquez \u003c\/i\u003eLaura Cumming shares the riveting story of her mother's mysterious kidnapping as a toddler in a small English coastal village--and how that event reverberated through her own family and her art for decades.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the fall of 1929, when Laura Cumming's mother was three years old, she was kidnapped from a beach on the Lincolnshire coast of England. There were no screams when she was taken, suggesting the culprit was someone familiar to her, and when she turned up again in a nearby village several days later, she was found in perfect health and happiness. No one was ever accused of a crime. The incident quickly faded from her memory, and her parents never discussed it. To the contrary, they deliberately hid it from her, and she did not learn of it for half a century. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e This was not the only secret her parents kept from her. For many years, while raising her in draconian isolation and protectiveness, they also hid the fact that she'd been adopted, and that shortly after the kidnapping, her name was changed from Grace to Betty. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eFive Days Gone, \u003c\/i\u003eLaura Cumming brilliantly unspools the tale of her mother's life and unravels the multiple mysteries at its core. Using photographs from the time, historical documents, and works of art, Cumming investigates this case of stolen identity with the toolset of a detective and the unique intimacy of a daughter trying to understand her family's past and its legacies. Compulsive, vivid, and profoundly touching, \u003ci\u003eFive Days Gone \u003c\/i\u003eis a masterful blend of memoir and history, an extraordinary personal narrative unlike any other.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Scribner Book Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/27\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781501198717\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/10\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/28\/2019 pg. 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/15\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2019 pg. 16\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Laura Cumming","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36654898348188,"sku":"9781501198717","price":22.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_cfb96fcf-c510-44c4-ac16-79d9b9074fd4.jpg?v=1603884338","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/five-days-gone-the-mystery-of-my-mothers-disappearance-as-a-child-9781501198717","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}