Today I am delighted to be featuring Debbie Howell's novel. The Life You Left Behind on the blog. It was published by Boldwood Books on 27th February.
Two strangers.
One missed flight.
It only takes a moment to change a life.
One year ago Casey Cassidy was happy. She had great friends,
a wonderful teaching job and a busy life - until with one missed flight,
everything changes.
One year later Casey knows what it means to find that
once-in-a-lifetime love people dream of. But when Ben leaves, her heart is
shattered.
Left facing a year of firsts without him, piecing her life
back together seems impossible. But then a friend offers her a home in rural
France.
In the solitude and emptiness, Casey needs to comes to terms
with what’s happened and find a way to move forward. She has no idea where that
will take her one year later...
My Thoughts
This novel felt like a book of contrasts. There is the euphoria of Casey and Ben's early relationship. with all the hope and appreciation of life and then the darkness and sadness of other periods in their lives. Despite the serious underlying themes of depression and mental illness, there is an overarching uplifting feeling of Casey's zest for life and growing sense of adventure. She does not feel like this throughout the book however. You follow her as she works through her sadness and grief and struggles to find a way forward.
Family and friendship are important themes and in many ways, Casey re-evaluates her relationships with her parents as she deals with her grief. She also is able to look at the positive side of her relationship with Ben and to appreciate some of the environmental issues which he felt about so deeply. Whereas Ben is overwhelmed at the effects of man on the environment, Casey sets about learning more and then looking for positive ways to educate and make changes. They are like two sides of the same coin. There are some interesting issues raised in the story and it takes a thoughtful approach to the quality of life and relationships.
In short: Uplifting but with darker elements.
About the Author
While working as long-haul cabin crew in her twenties,
Debbie trained as a pilot and qualified as a flying instructor. But as the mother of two small children, she
wanted a career she could fit around them and started a wedding flower
business, Country Flowers. For thirteen
years, Debbie created the natural, seasonal designs she became known for to
venues throughout the South East.
It was towards the end of this time she started writing, in
a notebook in the shade of her garden on her days off, self-publishing three
women’s fiction novels, the third of which, Wildflowers, almost but not quite
found her a literary agent.
Pursuing her dream of a traditional publishing deal, she
went on to write her first psychological thriller, the Sunday Times bestseller,
The Bones of You. Four more have followed
including the e-book bestseller The Vow, but it’s another long-awaited dream
come true that her women’s fiction novels have now found a home with Boldwood.
You can follow Debbie here: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
| Bookbub profile
Book link: Amazon UK
Thanks to Debbie Howells, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
Check out these brilliant bloggers!
Comments
Post a Comment