Piece by Piece

“Our artifacts might be evidence we existed. But the stories behind those artifacts are evidence we lived” (p. 228).

Kim Danielson, the author of “Piece by Piece,” has created a memoir containing emotion, tension, research, and most importantly, the process of making a loss more valuable than the items lost.

Kim received a phone call from her husband. “What happened to our closet?”

Their bedroom had been entered through a patio door, their closet torn apart, the safe broken, the heirloom jewelry stolen. “Maybe they just took the cash and overlooked or missed the important things,” the author shares within the book’s beginnings (p. 6).

And then the stories are told, chapter after chapter, of a blue topaz ring, a platinum necklace, a gold chain necklace with a butterfly charm, and many more pieces. Each lost item is introduced with a researched background, a sketch, and the personal meaning to the author.

Pawn shops are visited and revisited as Kim seeks her lost items and answers. Who did it? Who broke into our home? Who knew the floor plan? How will these robbers be apprehended? The search—or lack thereof—left Kim feeling she should seek answers and the losses herself. “But the more I looked, the more I realized how often this crime happens and how long these cases remain unsolved” (p. 219).

This memoir is intriguing as Kim invites us to share in her courtship, her marriage, her pregnancies, and, poignantly, her mother’s death. Dialogue gives us immediacy to her life’s experiences. We are with her, maturing with her as the loss of her heirlooms does loom throughout the storyline.

The reader may think, as I did at one point, It’s just jewelry, Kim. Life has more importance than stuff. Yes, she addresses such thoughts with appreciation for what she has. Tension is created as the reader ponders how this story, reminiscing about meaningful jewelry items, could possibly progress.

You will not be disappointed with Piece by Piece. You will take away from this memoir the gift of recognizing that stories are impenetrable. Stories are evidence.

This book had a profound effect upon me. The recent July 2025 Texas flood destroyed all personal belongings within our home. The house has been rebuilt. But all papers, books, clothing, Mom’s cherished doll and accessories, certificates, and even her baby baptism dress are no longer in existence. Dad’s handbuilt curio cabinet was demolished. Kim’s story evoked for me the real meaning of material possessions. She has taken me down the legacy path of story-telling. The relevancy of passing stories to my family is of more importance now after reading Piece by Piece.

I conclude my review of this wonderful memoir with Kim’s remark, “I never would have considered the meaning and significance of those pieces if they had not been stolen. I prayed for the thieves to have a change of heart, and it ended up being my own heart that changed, and for the better” (p. 221-222).

Read how Kim’s heart was changed and your heart will be rewarded with peace and a desire to persevere through loss and life’s circumstances.