Where It All Began, a review by Shelley

I love books with family drama, and this one has it in spades. Edie is writing letters to her daughter, Lexi, a daughter she is estranged from. As she writes these letters and the memories resurface, she relives what tore them apart.

This book is very emotional and character-driven. It was hard to read about a mother-daughter relationship that was so broken. Edie is really trying to figure out what (or who) made it all go so wrong, and I think she finally needed to be honest with herself. There are lots of secrets and realizations. Edie’s thoughts were very personal and painfully real, which made me feel completely invested in her history.

The pacing is slow, but I think that was on purpose so the reader could slowly figure things out with Edie. The emotional realization that Edie comes to really ties everything together, even though parts of the story were a tad drawn out. I will say the emotional impact makes up for it.

Overall, this is a poignant story of love, loss, and regret. I felt Edie’s hope that healing might still be possible the entire time I was reading. I’m rating for the emotional depth and how much this book made me feel. If you enjoy character-driven stories that take a deep look into family secrets, then I think you’d enjoy it as much as I did!

Just a quick end note, I have read quite a few of Debbie Howells books, and it is my humble opinion that this is her best work yet.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.