The Madonna in the Suitcase, by Huberta Hellendoorn https://www.amazon.co.uk/Madonna-Suitcase-Huberta-Hellendoorn-ebook/dp/B008XRUKYI/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22UPYMXNGZMVQ&keywords=the+madonna+in+the+suitcase&qid=1657996697&sprefix=the+madonna+in+the+suitcase%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-1
This short book is unusually written in the second person, but don’t let that put you off – there’s a good reason! The author’s daughter, Miriam, who had Down Syndrome, suffered a terrible stroke aged forty, and this book is addressed to her, telling her the story of her life as the first child of a Dutch immigrant couple in New Zealand in the 1960s. It is illustrated with photographs from the family album and Miriam’s own vibrant paintings. It feels like a privilege to read it – it’s a book full of such love and beauty, and one that admits the reader to share in that love. The book was serialised by Radio New Zealand a couple of years ago – I can’t imagine there was a dry eye in the house