Reviews with content warning for Dementia - Truths I Never Told You

Always a winner with Diane Chamberlain. Here you follow two timeframes; Beth, a new mother in 1996, and Grace, her mother, as a new mother in the 1950's. The book tackles difficult issues such as equity for women, dementia, postpartum depression, and abortion. Beth is trying to find answers to how her mother died (when she was just a toddler) when she is cleaning the attic of her ailing father's house and finds a death certificate as well as letters/diary entries her mother had written so many years ago. The date on the death certificate doesn't seen to add up, and the information in the letters creates curiosity in Beth as she strives to be a good mother as well as grasp onto any memories of her own mother from so long ago.

It is emotional and honest. A difficult read at times depending on your connection to the situations described.

Content Warnings

tinkeringcheck's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Read for a book club, and since the subject matter isn't something I'd pick up myself I won't rate it. The depictions of postpartum depression, self-harm, and suicide ideation are very, very raw and I'd caution anyone sensitive to those topics to mind the content warnings.

I will say that I found the use of flashback letters/diaries really impactful and the siblings' relationship very real (as in equal parts sweet and mischievous and frustrating in that special way of siblings). I thought each of the narrator's voices were strong, though I loved some more than others. I thought all of the characters went through their own arcs and growth, and no one felt unimportant which is no small feat when a big family side cast is involved.

I found the depiction of dementia a little stereotypical and sterilized, like a checklist of 'unusual' symptoms, though granted it wasn't the main part of the story. It seemed like the depictions of postpartum depression were much more fleshed out, but it felt like the healing from it was a bit sterilized as well. I'm a bit tired of seeings characters trying one (1) anti-depressant and suddenly being totally fine. What about having to try different meds? What about co-morbidities (like anxiety, in Beth's case)? What about therapy? Especially since Beth, as a mental health professional, was so against getting diagnosed at all it seems odd that there wasn't even a mention of therapy to help her work through that obvious block. I know the stigma of mental health professionals getting mental health support themselves has changed so much since the 90s, but it seemed out of step with the rest of the forward-facing tone of the ending.

I found the ending rushed as well. I really enjoyed the twist

with Maryanne's existence and the kids' memories being of her instead of Grace

. But the

romantic aspect between their dad and Maryanne seemed forced. A platonic coparenting situation would've had the same stakes for Maryanne while actually recognizing her progressive characterization.

I loved

Maryanne

, and I wish we could've spent more time with her character without her falling into to the

"childfree woman fell in love with the kids and therefore MUST fall in love with a man and become a wife" trope. Her relationship with Beth was one of my favourite parts of the book, but I wish it had been celebrated in a way that hadn't forced her character into a very nuclear box.

Overall, I loved most of the characters and the growth that everyone went through, but there were some unexplored biases towards mental health diagnoses and childfree women from the narrators that went untapped.

Content Warnings

lou_ka's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

joey1914's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Title: Truths I Never Told You
Author: Kelly Rimmer
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: April 14, 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Dynamic • Absorbing • Vulnerable

📖 S Y N O P S I S

The four Walsh siblings are know their father's ailing health means his death is imminent. When he moves to a care facility, they must decide what to do with their childhood home. Beth, the youngest of the siblings is a new mother who has been struggling to adapt to her new role. Although she feels she's hiding her struggles from her family adequately, the rest of the family can see she just isn't herself. When Beth offers to take on the daunting task of clearing out the house, she is shocked to discover a deadbolt on the door to the attic. Once she finally gains access, she is shocked to discovers a chaotic mess, especially given her father's otherwise orderly home. As she rummages through the clutter, she discovers long hidden letters written by their mother. These letters will uncover a long kept family secret, and maybe ever offer Beth some much needed guidance.

💭 T H O U G H T S

For me, Truths I Never Told You gripped my attention from the very start, and I just could not put it down. Told through three POVs, two past and one present, the format worked because it allowed for mystery to build and for a slow unravelling of the story.

Kelly Rimmer has done a good job at presenting a genuine portrayal of postpartum depression in a compassionate manner. One key aspect that made this book so scucessful was the use of faulty memories. This part of the story really shone a light on how we make our memories what they want them to be, not necessarily what actually occurred. The authenticity of the Walsh family' felt relatable. My heart broke for Grace, some of her thoughts and intentions were so hard to get through. Yet it definitely made me appreciate how far women's reproductive rights have come and how progress has been made when it comes to postpartum depression.

After reading Truths I Never Told You I am definitely looking forward to exploring more of Kelly Rimmer's titles off my shelf. While they don't have the same emotional punch as some of my favourites, each one I have read so far has been an enjoyable read.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers who enjoy family dramas
• mothers/daughters

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Loneliness is so much worse than sadness, because loneliness, by definition, cannot be shared."

"But life has no rhyme or reason sometimes, and when it all boils down, we really are at the mercy of fate."

Content Warnings

jennastopreading's review

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

rachaelreads92's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

**4.5 stars**
It took me a long while to get into this story, but when it started to pick up it was a truely beautiful story.

In 1959, Grace, a young mother with four children under four discovers she is pregnant. But Grace has a secret, she suffered a deep despair after each of her pregnancies, a despair she can't possibly face again. Grace pours her deepest fears, fears she can't share with anyone, into pages of a notebook that she hides somewhere her husband will never find it. Seemingly out of options, Grace turns the only person she knows will help, her sister Maryanne.

In 1996, Beth's father Patrick is diagnosed with dementia. Beth and her siblings have to make the heart breaking decision to put him into full time care. Patrick had always told the family that their mother had died in a terrible car accident, but as Beth is clearing out Patrick's home she discovers a series of letters that sends Beth's life into a tailspin. These letters suggest that Beth's mother did not die in a car accident but that something much darker must have happened.

This is a novel that spans over the course of 50 years, told through three narrators Beth, Grace and Maryanne. Through reading a series of letters written by Grace, we slowly uncover what actually happened to Grace and it is truely heartbreaking.

I related to this book in ways that truely made me uncomfortable. I always wanted a family, to have children, until my mother passed away. I related to both Grace and Beth in ways that made me uncomfortable because I fear that I would have a similar experience if I were to ever have children. That fear that WHAT IF I am a terrible mother ? It isn't something you can change. Like Beth, I also worry that without my mother here to guide me, how could I ever know how to care for a child?

As I previously mentioned, the beginning of this book is a little slow. It took me about 150 pages to really begin to enjoy this novel, but I am glad I stuck to it! The pay off was so worth it! I balled my eyes out several times in the last few chapters of this novel.

Another fantastic novel by Kelly Rimmer!

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