What She Left Behind

Excellent read. Surprise ending was great!

"What She Left Behind" reminded me of being in high school and reading "Flowers in The Attic". A real nail biter of a book, that is hard to put down. Fortunately, I was only fifteen when I read "Flowers In The Attic", and it was a grand experience for a young person like myself who had not read that many novels yet. At 45, I can appreciate the page turning aspects of a book like "What She Left Behind", but must also point out that it is hardly elevated literature. In no way am I trying to sound snobby. I finished this book in less than a week, which is unusual for me. It is indeed a compelling read, and hard to put down. It flows along nicely, and never gets off track. This author has a flare for writing suspenseful chapters. I admired the subject matter of the book very much, and always appreciate even the slightest bit of light being shed on anything that has to do with mental illness. So I indeed recommend this book. Having said that, I must confess that there are issues here that may be problematic for some. I will not go so far as to say this book is amateurish, but will say that it probably would appeal more to a younger female audience than any other. Both of the main characters are young females. One of them has her story portrayed in the 1930's, and the other the 1990's. This formula is starting to get tiresome at this point, as it seems nearly every other book I read has two separate stories taking place with decades in between them. Orphan Train, The Pieces We Keep, Water For Elephants, Sarah's Key, Those Who Save Us, to name a few. Often times one of the stories will be great but not the other, which is confounding to me, as a good story does not need to be anchored with a happy ending that takes place fifty years later, at least not to me. Clara, the main character from the 1930's has a big problem. She's been wrongfully committed to an asylum. This nightmarish experience is riveting, and at times gasp inducing. I was on the edge of my seat and sincerely experienced the "cringe" factor on numerous occasions while reading about her experience in such a God awful place. How authentic of a story this is I couldn't say. I know that the portrayal of asylums through most of the twentieth century are not usually ones that will make you think about butterflies resting on newly opened daffodils. This story does not break any new ground in that I believe most of us have had numerous encounters with reading or viewing a story about someone being trapped in an asylum against their will. Still, it is compelling to read about if for no other reason than to help purge our own fears about such a horror happening to us. The nature of what seemingly occurred at one time in these places, is truly unfathomable to me, but then, so is what happened during the Holocaust. Though sometimes certain subjects can become redundant, I believe that these Evil's that human beings are capable of need not be forgotten, as I'm a true believer that we are in fact doomed to repeat such atrocities if we don't keep reminding ourselves. Though Clara's story is not written in the most skillful fashion, it is written in a manner that keeps your interest, and stirs your emotions. Meanwhile the story of Izzy in 1995 is not quite as interesting, nor is the connection between her and Clara. However, a different set of life circumstances is pondered during Izzy's story, albeit not particularly original either. Izzy has grown up in foster care trying to survive with the knowledge that her Mom killed her Dad when she was a young girl. She wrestles with knowing that her Mom is committed to a psychiatric facility, and subsequently lives fearful of mental illness, what might cause it, and if she eventually may fall victim to it. This had the potential to be explored much further than it was, and I believe is a relatable fear to many people, but the author steers away and instead focuses too much on Izzy's experience with trying to fit in at a new school and make new friends, and the crush that she has on a boy that is in a relationship with a "mean girl". Again, the author's talent for writing suspenseful scenes is on full display, and in fact a scene where a group of kids who get together at night and scope out an abandoned asylum will have you hard pressed to stop reading. For me wanting to keep reading is first and foremost as to if a book is good. This book is good. The other elements, writing style, language use, etc..I can ignore if I feel like I'm learning something, and I'm being entertained. I feel that a letter grade or star grade is not possible for this novel. For me it deserves and A for storytelling, and C for not rising above the many cliche's contained in these two characters stories.

Really great book. Well written and well researched. I’d highly recommend to anyone interested in history but also someone just looking for a good story.

This is another deep and heartbreaking story by Ellen Marie Wiseman. The story is told in chapters about Clara in the 1920's and Izzy in the 1990's. Clara falls in love and becomes pregnant.. Her rich parents want her to marry the son of a rich friend. Clara refuses and fights with her father, who has her admitted to a home for "Nervous Adults". Later she is transferred to Willard Asylum. Izzy's mother shoots her father and goes to prison. Izzy is in foster care. She ends up in the home of Peg, a museum curator and her husband, Harry. The museum gets permission to study the left over luggage from former patients of the now closed, Willard. The story will break your heart so many times. Izzy learns about Clara thru a diary found in Clara's trunk left at Willard. A sad story with a surprising ending. Like all of Ms. Wiseman's books it is hard to put down and is very thought provoking. You can't go wrong with this author. Be sure to read the Author's Notes with questions and answers at the end of the book. As with all her books these leave more insight into the subject matter. They always make me want to know more and thus, I dig deeper into the subject. To me this is the sign of a really good book.

I got this book because the authors previous book "the life she was given" was the book that got me back into reading as an adult. That all said, I was very disappointed in this book. It seems unfinished/ rushed, including a few big errors in the story, it tells us a big part of a characters story and then 2 chapters later it changes what happend and how that character acted, with no explanation or reasoning. Also TW it used sa alot, like alot, alot. I wouldn't mind it if it was tactful, (and in some cases it is used tactfully) but it's used for almost every other character and seems like it is being used to be used in some of the cases. One of the romances also seems forced / doesn't make sense to me. However it did keep me intrigued and kept me on my toes, it also does have a happyish ending, which is not common with this author. If you intrigued get it, however I suggest looking at this authors previous works if this your first time encountering her one of her books.

I couldn’t put this book down, it was a real page turner! Beautifully written and full of emotion, sadness and moments of joy. It illustrated the total horror of Mental institutions and the lack of understanding around mental health and man’s cruelty towards their fellow human beings.

I have enjoyed every book I have read that Ellen Marie Wiseman has written. She is a fantastic author. What She left behind was definitely a page turner. I love how she incorporates history with fiction.

The anxiety levels what happened to Clara is kind of an adrenaline rush. I just loved reading this book and yes definitely would pass on to my book club!!

Two interesting characters stories skilfully entwined. Unsettlingly story based on true stories from the fairly recent past. Believable characters of real interest.

Very interesting to me as I had training in this field only in Canada and had not experienced many of these dreadful happenings or conditions although the care and cleanliness of patients was paramount.I do realize this was written fictionally and the comparison of two time periods in these institutions was done well.it makes me wonder just how much progress we have made in the pressing problem of mental illness- no institutions but addicted and living in the streets?? The ending in the story was a surprise!