Remembering My Mother

For Bibi, and Jeremy

On August 19, 1999, my sister Bibi and I lost our mother, Ulla, without warning.

Her death made no sense—I mean it was shocking. After leaving me a phone message, she suddenly vomited blood and died, still on her feet, in her bathroom.

It was August 22 before we got somebody into the apartment, in Karlstad, Sweden. On the evening of the 19th, I started c…