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What She Left Behind

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What She Left Behind

By: Ellen Marie Wiseman
Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
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About this listen

Ten years ago, Izzy Stone's mother fatally shot her father while he slept. Devastated by her mother's apparent insanity, Izzy, now 17, refuses to visit her in prison. But her new foster parents, employees at the local museum, have enlisted Izzy's help in cataloguing items at a long-shuttered state asylum. There, amid piles of abandoned belongings, Izzy discovers a stack of unopened letters, a decades-old journal, and a window into her own past.

Clara Cartwright, 18 years old in 1929, is caught between her overbearing parents and her love for an Italian immigrant. Furious when she rejects an arranged marriage, Clara's father sends her to a genteel home for nervous invalids. But when his fortune is lost in the stock market crash, he can no longer afford her care and Clara is committed to the public asylum. Even as Izzy deals with the challenges of yet another new beginning, Clara's story keeps drawing her into the past. If Clara was never really mentally ill, could something else explain her own mother's violent act? Piecing together Clara's fate compels Izzy to re-examine her own choices - with shocking and unexpected results.

©2014 Ellen Marie Wiseman (P)2014 Tantor Coming of Age Family Life Genre Fiction Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Psychological Suspense

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All stars
Most relevant
The past and present were blended work a clear connection. My guesses of where the story was going was not always correct. An easy listen, please give it a try.

Good blend of past and present

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Really interesting and enjoyable story. I thought Clara and Izzy could have been the same person. Their characters could have had a little more differentiation. I liked the topic of mental health and how this was threaded through many of the characters.

very well written

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I can’t rate this book highly enough. The development of the characters, their connections and the dual timeline were a joy to listen to. I felt the dismay and descriptions of the asylum life was heart wrenching. The joining up of the two timelines was fascinating.
Go read or listen to it.

Absolutely tremendous

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This novel began well but I’m afraid I felt that the author had packed too many issues into this tale of woe in both timelines. The past timeline with wealthy strict parents thwarting their offspring the heroine. The cruelty & abuse in a mental asylum. This went on ad nauseam causing me to speed up the narration. The present day time line wasn’t very enjoyable with its teenage bullying.
A promising premise, hopeful ending but a dirge in between!.

Good intentions.

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Where to begin with this book? The calibre of writing is extremely poor. This could've been written by a teenager, with little experience of writing. Pages and pages of "he said....she said" dialogue. Good writers show the reader the story, rather than tell the reader, word for word where the plot is going......unfortunately this writer has gone for the word for word style and it's excruciating. There's simply no depth or maturity to the writing. Similarly, the characters lack any real passion and weight. The writer is obviously attempting to tell of the horrors of early 19th century asylums. However, in doing so she renders the story totally unbelievable and unrealistic ~ with the characters undergoing every horrific treatment that's ever been forced upon the poor souls who inhabited the early asylums. Additionally, the ending with regards to Clara, is just not possible. Had the writer done any real research she would've have known that Clara's ending could not have happened after decades of incarceration. I cannot say more as I don't want to spoil it for others. Thank goodness this was free on Audible and I didn't actually waste any money on it.

Zero Star Rating!

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