Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala

Sonali Deraniyagala's story begins on the morning of December 26, 2004, while she was vacationing on the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka. In a flash her entire life is changed forever when her husband, two children and parents are swept away by the powerful, unforgiving tsunami. This brave memoir (reminiscent of Joan Didion's acclaimed The Year of Magical Thinking) is a painfully honest portrayal of learning to live with loss and fighting to keep what you love alive.

Wave, Sonali Deraniyagala, $27. Available at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.