The Day My Husband Left-Books On Tour (Review)-Fiction-Available Now

I had a very difficult time reading this book. Not because it was bad – not by any stretch of the imagination.

But because it hit me on two different levels.

Heidi loses her husband early on (that’s no spoiler, the opening page is literally his death notice). I felt this gut punch.

Not because I have lost my husband, but we have had to be in separate places for the past month (and still have another month to go).

Everything Heidi felt about wondering how to go about life alone, how to get things done without her partner, and trying to find the strength to just keep going – all of these things screamed out to me.

I could totally relate to her. Again, not because of a loss, but because once you find that other half of you, trying to continue without him becomes incredibly difficult. It’s interesting, because I was happy and independent before him, not unlike Heidi.

And it’s not that I have lost myself. It’s just that you don’t realize how much you share the burdens until that person isn’t there anymore.

On another level however, there was even more of a gut punch for me, because Johnny’s last message to Heidi revealed a secret that neither of them ever talked about.

I’m going to put SPOILER ALERT here, because I think it kind of is. But I have to explain why it was so emotional for me. So if you don’t want to know any of it, skip to below the photo of the blog tour.

SPOILER (kind of)

I’m adopted. I’ve often thought about my birth mother and father but have never taken the steps to find them. I know a little about them, so I could. But I haven’t.

Heidi and Johnny’s decisions were easy for me to project onto my own birth parents. It was a difficult yet enlightening perspective, because I haven’t often thought of what THEY thought about me.

I found myself wondering if I would react or feel like William.

This book made me really think about that. And it wasn’t easy to do so – it was uncomfortable. Because I don’t have an answer.

Okay, back to the review.

Those two aspects made me much more invested in the book than the average reader might be, I think. Others may find it to be a simple story.

Regardless, it was well-written, and it really spoke to me. I would definitely recommend it.

Twitter: @AmyBratley1

Author Bio:
Amy Miller is the pseudonym of Amy Bratley, who started her writing life working on magazines and newspapers. She has previously written three women’s fiction novels published by Pan Macmillan, the first of which was a bestseller in Italy. Her day job is being a freelance managing editor of both a vintage interiors magazine and a food magazine, two subjects she’s passionate about. Amy lives in Dorset with her husband and two children. 

close

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)