Happy Release Day!!
Congrats Deanna
on the release today of
The Ones We Leave Behind!
The Ones We Leave Behind by Deanna Lynn Sletten
Print and e-book, 412 pages
Published September 8, 2020 by Deanna Lynn Sletten
Diane picked up her mother’s phone. “How do you feel about your mother being let out of prison today after sixty-five years?” the reporter asked. Diane stared at her mother. “My grandmother is alive?” That one phone call hurled shock waves throughout the entire family.
1955 – Anna Bergman Craine’s life changes in an instant when she commits a crime of passion and is sentenced to life in prison. Leaving behind two young children, she is left alone in the world, never to hear from family or friends again. Decades later, she is set free, and finds she has a family that has chosen to forget her. What caused this beautiful, intelligent, young woman to commit such a drastic deed that would pull her away from everyone she loved?
2020 – Diane Martin is shocked to learn that not only is her maternal grandmother alive, but she’s just been released after decades in prison. Against her aging mother’s wishes, she visits the older woman and soon hears a tale of the events that led up to that tragic day in 1955. Diane realizes that her own life has mirrored that of her grandmother’s and, had circumstances gone differently that fateful day, she might have experienced the same fate.
A heart-wrenching story of a family torn apart because of a moment in time and trying to put the pieces together after being separated for decades.
My thoughts about The Ones We Leave Behind ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)
First line—"Diane Martin strode down the hallway of the Rosewood Senior Living Apartments, smiling and waving to the many residents she passed."
Can you even imagine finding out that your grandmother is alive after being told all your life that she was dead? And then to find out that she has spent the last 65 years of her life in prison. Inconceivable! So, of course, Diane has to reach out to her grandmother but in the process of listening to her story, and to her mother's version, she gets conflicting accounts of Anna, the life she lead, and how she ended up in prison.
We are transported to Anna's life in the 1950's as she shares her life back then with her granddaughter. Things were wonderful for Anna once upon a time, until they weren't anymore, until 1955 when the unthinkable happened.
The story alternates to the present, where Diane is trying to understand all of this and to make sense of what her grandmother went through. all while trying to convince her mother to come face-to-face with the women she has hated most of her life.
Once again, Deanna has created a memorable, heartbreaking, beautiful story that will make you feel all the feels—joy, love, fear, anger, betrayal, forgiveness, despair, acceptance—and so much more.
The Ones We Leave Behind is a must-read for lovers of historical fiction and women's fiction. It definitely fits the bill for both of these genres. I loved it, like I knew I would, and I highly recommend it!
I received a copy of The Ones We Leave Behind from the author and this is my honest opinion.
About the author
Deanna Lynn Sletten is the author of Maggie's Turn, Finding Libbie, One Wrong Turn, Miss Etta, and several other titles. She writes heartwarming women's fiction and romance novels with unforgettable characters. She has also written one middle-grade novel that takes you on the adventure of a lifetime. Deanna believes in fate, destiny, love at first sight, soul mates, second chances, and happily ever after, and her novels reflect that.
Deanna is married and has two grown children. When not writing, she enjoys walking the wooded trails around her home with her beautiful Australian Shepherd or relaxing on the lake in the summer.
Thank you for such a great review, Susan. I'm so happy you enjoyed my book.
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