A Mother's Day Gift She Still Has in July

Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May, so for a printed book order by about the middle of April. That is an estimate: printing takes about three business days and free standard shipping inside the US is an estimated 11 to 14 business days, with priority and express options at checkout. The digital edition arrives within 24 hours, so a late decision still has an answer.

The book itself is the same; the dedication and the timing are what change. Mother's Day lands on the same Sunday in May for everyone, so the ordering window is crowded and worth beating by a couple of weeks. A birthday book can be written whenever you get around to it.

Yes, and it is a good year for one, because the person she was before this year is worth writing down. Answer the questions about her rather than about the baby: her work, her friends, what she always says, where she is from. The result is a novel with her as the main character, and it will read differently in ten years.

Yes. Collect the stories from everyone, then one person answers the questions in a single sitting of about five minutes. The dedication page is in your own words and is where all the names go, which is how one gift covers several children.

It is a novel built from your answers, not a record of her life. The names, places and turning points you give us are used and the scenes are written around them, so it reads like a book rather than a report, and every copy carries a short note that the story is a work of fiction. If what you want is a factual account of her life, this is not that. You see the whole thing before you pay, about an hour after you answer, with the chance to change your answers, the title or the cover, so nothing goes to print that you have not read.

The Digital Edition is $29, the Paperback is $39 and the Hardcover is $59. Both printed editions include the digital copy, and standard shipping within the US is free.