Review by Darcie Czajkowski
Luke Richardson lost a part of
himself when he lost his wife, Natalie, to cancer. With three young children,
Luke doesn't know how he's going to do it alone.
Natalie anticipated this, knowing her
husband since they were kids themselves, and wrote letters to him which start
to arrive the day of her funeral.
In them, she shares messages to pass
on to their children, some of the challenges she faced during chemo, her fears
as she struggled to come to terms with her terminal diagnosis, and, finally,
the admission of a long-held secret that she wrestled with telling him while
she was alive.
At first, Luke lives for her letters,
not only because it makes him feel close to his wife but also because she leads
him to people who help him to continue on with his life.
But when Natalie starts revealing
pieces of her secret, Luke begins to wonder if he ever knew his wife and what
irrevocable implications her revelation will have in his life and the lives of
his children.
I feel in love with Emily Bleeker's
writing in her debut novel, Wreckage, and was eager to read her latest novel,
When I'm Gone. Amd it didn't disappoint. She writes with passion and a maturity
that evidences a proficiency at story-telling. She kept me guessing until the
end and filled the story with many layers and twists and turns. I was invested
emotionally in the characters and their journeys, and read the story with an
eagerness to know how it would end. I highly recommend this sophomore novel
from Emily Bleeker.
Purchase the book at:
About the Author:
I’m a mom of four, an author and
Chicagoland native. My first novel, WRECKAGE, was released by Lake Union
Publishing March 2015. My second book, WHEN I’M GONE, will hit shelves March
2016. I’m learning to balance life as a stay-at-home mom with my
life as a writer. Both come with a lot of laughter, tears and a shocking amount
of Diet Coke.
Connect with the author at:
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