Kim Danielson is the author of the new novel Piece by Piece: A Life Remembered through Things Lost. Also an attorney, she lives in Denver.
Q: What inspired you to write Piece by Piece?
A: Two thieves broke into our home on January 21, 2022, and stole priceless heirlooms and keepsakes. The loss devastated me. Many of these pieces served as talismans to my past and reminded me of beloved people and memories. Losing them felt like losing my history.
After months of searching, waiting, and a stalled police investigation, I decided to sit down and write the stories of these precious things. I discovered that the stories, when strung together, told the story of my life.
Q: What do you think the book says about possessions, and about memory?
A: Our possessions are often like artifacts that serve as physical reminders of important people and times in our lives. They connect us to our past. That’s why, when we lose them, it breaks our hearts, and the grief we feel is both real and reasonable.
But no matter how fiercely we safeguard our things, eventually they will be lost. If not by us, then by someone else.
But the stories behind these objects— the connections they represent—are even more valuable. Recording these stories creates a legacy that will outlast both the items and the author. It’s an heirloom that can never be stolen.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it
signify for you?
A: The book’s title matches the book’s structure because the story is told through the lens of stolen jewelry. Each piece is the focus of a chapter of my life (and of this book). The title also represents my process of healing after this devastating loss, but applies to any kind of loss, because healing is never instantaneous. It happens piece by piece.
There’s a literal significance to the title as well, because I had to pick up the pieces scattered and broken on my closet floor after the burglary. The physical act of gathering mirrored the collection of stories that eventually became this book.
Q: What impact did it have on you to write the book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
A: Writing the book provided a much-needed balm for my hurting and untethered heart. This theft ignited both old and new grief, because many of these items were my only connections to people I had loved and lost, including my mother and a dear friend.
Anyone who has ever lost something of meaningful value will relate to Piece by Piece. I hope it will help readers understand why, sometimes, things are so much more than “just stuff.”
I also hope readers will use this book as a practical template for telling their own life stories and that it might help ease the difficulty of letting go for anyone downsizing or passing along heirlooms.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m really excited about offering a new workshop modeled after Piece by Piece. I’ll be presenting a method for others to learn to tell the stories of their lives by telling the stories of their precious things.
I’m also loving writing on Substack these days. Every week I pick a single object and reflect on the meaning it might offer us, so fans of Piece by Piece will be able to continue the journey with me over there.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I practiced law on both ends of the spectrum, first as a public defender and then as a corporate attorney.
In 2019, I founded a nonprofit organization to support teachers impacted by cancer.
I’ve witnessed countless transformations stemming from loss, and it’s an important theme in my life and writing.
I live in Denver with my husband and three sons.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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