Ten years ago, Izzy Stone’s mother fatally shot her father while he slept. Devastated by her mother’s apparent insanity, Izzy, now seventeen, refuses to visit her in prison. But her new foster parents, employees at a local museum, have enlisted Izzy’s help in cataloging 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, eighteen 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.
Illuminating and provocative, WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND is a masterful novel about the yearning to belong—and the mysteries that can belie even the most ordinary life.
This book takes a staggering look into the asylums of earlier years and although quite dark at times, it was a reality of our American history and the power of which money and men had. The author had two very different story lines working and effortlessly seamed them together for a good novel. Izzy’s POV, the seventeen year old, read like a YA book which I thought was important and true to her age and thoughts. Clara’s POV was incredibly inspiring as she suffered silently through ice baths, insulin shock therapy, and confined spaces while she maintained her dignity. Guilt, betrayal, trust, foster care, what you believe is true vs. the truth, abuse, bullying and ultimately love are at the heart of this book. If you liked this book, I suggest you read Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall.
Here’s a photo of the Willard State Asylum.
Quotes I liked:
But how many were victims of of circumstance, women left penniless by husbands who abandoned them or died, women who lost children and needed help coping with unbearable grief, women banished by parents who disapproved of their decisions? How many were at Willard because of a single angry outburst, or because they had grown old and been abandoned by their children, or had lost their parents at a young age and had grown up in an orphanage? How many were sane when they got here, but after months of abuse or overtreatment with ice baths and sedatives, would never be rational again?”
-“The world was full of broken people, and all the hospitals and institutions and jails could never mend their fractured hearts, wounded minds, and trampled spirits.”
-“What would have happened if the patients had been asked what had happened to them instead of what was wrong with them?”
Review:Drive Me Crazy by Carly Robyn blew me away with its humor, heart, and heat. I’m newer to rom-com (Romantic Comedy) and after reading quite a few of them, I totally think that this one shines above.Full disclosure, I know the author quite well. She’s my daughter; but it’s the honest truth when I say I loved the heck out of this book. I was literally laughing out loud at some points and fell hard in love with Blake, the broody Brit, and Ella, the relatable journalist who could be my BFF.The pacing of the story was spot on as I fell into the fast-paced life of an F1 driver, and the toll racing takes on both their minds and bodies. I appreciated the slow burn to the ultimately spicy and steamy romance. It made the wait and tension totally worth the wait! For me, smart conversation and good banter can make or break a book. This one had so much wit and humor that I’d be happy with that alone.The settings in this book take the reader all around Europe which makes for great escapes. Ella, who hails from Chicago before moving to New York, offers many local references which I loved.On top of the heart, humor and heat, there are also some serious issues woven through the book such a loss of a parent, mental illness, and sexual abuse. These issues are presented with sensitivity and care.Bottom line, if you’re looking for a book to make you laugh with a good dollop of spice, pick this one up. Readers are all saying they can’t wait for the second in the series.@carlyrobynauthor 📘Have you ever watched an Formula One race? OR Favorite trope in rom-coms? ... See MoreSee Less