Robin’s Reviews 2025
THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND by Patti Callahan Henry is a beautifully written novel about an impossible choice made by a mother, the emotional scars left in her daughter’s heart, and a book that might heal her pain decades later.
Summary
As a child prodigy, Bronwyn writes a book that becomes famous. As an adult, she writes the long-awaited sequel. The book is written in a coded language Bronwyn created and is yet unpublished. Under mysterious circumstances in 1927, she leaves her husband and her 8-year-old daughter Clara, and takes the dictionary needed to translate the cipher. The family believes Bronwyn is dead, and the pages are gone forever.
Twenty-five years later, Clara receives a phone call from Charlie, a stranger living in London. He claims her mother’s papers have been discovered. Her mother’s abandonment has haunted Clara and driven her need for answers and resolution. Suspicious but hopeful that the papers are real, Clara travels with her daughter Wynnie from South Carolina to London to retrieve them.
They arrive during The Great Smog of 1952. To escape the toxic air in London, they travel with Charlie to his family’s retreat in the Lake district, near where Beatrix Potter lived. While staying at the country estate, Clara must find the courage to uncover her mother’s secrets and the story she left behind.
My Thoughts
It’s fascinating that the real life and disappearance of author Barbara Newhall Follett inspired Patti’s novel. I had never heard of Barbara Newhall Follett, so of course I looked her up. You should, too! I appreciate that books have the power to bring someone unknown or nearly forgotten back into the spotlight.
So many times while reading this novel, I marveled at Patti Callahan Henry’s descriptions. Take time while you’re reading to savor the language she uses.
Clara goes through many trials in the story to get answers, but the ending is satisfying. The Story She Left Behind is filled with discovery, connection, understanding, forgiveness, lost family, and unexpected love.
Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. The opinion are my own.
THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND’s pub date is March 18, 2025, but preordering is VERY helpful to authors. I suggest ordering through Bookshop.org since they help support small, independent bookstores across the county: order hardback or ebook here.
If You Like…
If you like THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND, check out these past recommendations by Patti Callahan Henry: The Secret Life of Flora Lea and Once Upon a Wardrobe.
Drop me a comment below! What are you reading that you’d recommend? Who are your favorite authors? Ask me a question about books and/or writing. I’d love to hear from you!
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