A review by rachaelreads92
Truths I Never Told You, by Kelly Rimmer
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Dementia