When I'm Gone: A Novel

This was chosen by the host of my next book club and I ordered it for my Kindle having no clue what it was about. I assumed the obvious given the title. And at first, I thought it was going to be emotionally difficult to get through, but it was not what I expected. A cleverly crafted, well-woven story with so many twists. Nothing cliche about this one. No questionable plausibility or eyeroll from any scenario. It was a solid, intriguing, remarkable read that makes you wonder how many secrets get taken to the grave that survivors deserve to know? Emily has such a fluid writing style that makes you fall in emotional sync with her characters. Luke (the widower), his children (strong willed and undeniably special in so many ways especially in light of their mother's passing), Jesse (the babysitter with serious health issues) brought into their lives via Natalie (mother and wife now gone) whose posthumous letters are central to the story, Annie (Natalie's best friend) and others, even Terry (Nat's mother) with whom Luke has had a long-standing strained relationship, come together to make the story so credible and real. It's a love story. It's a mystery. It explores grief and abuse, faith and faithfulness and of course, the uncertainty of death. It makes you think how wonderful to document your thoughts for the benefit of loved ones left behind for the sake of closure. It's a page turner for sure until the very end. And so well done.

This was an enjoyable read with unexpected twists and turns. The characters were flawed yet likable, the pace was comfortable, and the plot was thought provoking. Among other things, the author delves into family relationships, romance, friendships, grief, young love, mystery, and a bit of suspense. Recommend.

Hard to put down. Lots of twists to enjoy. This one will keep you guessing till the end. So settle in.

TREAT A Book Review of When I’m Gone by Emily Bleek How to treat a book review? Having written one real book review and read through a few, I have come to the question of how to treat a book review. Do I give my own opinion? Whether it is favourable or not? Am I expected to write only positive things and a few polite constructive ideas? Should I then not review the books I don’t like? Should I perhaps write reviews only on the books I can recommend? This leaves me in two minds about When I’m Gone. How should I treat a story of severe loss – death – and coming to terms with it? How should I treat a writer that clearly has faced the real possibility of her own death? I have to respect Emily Bleek for what she has done. I am glad she is writing. The plot is pretty plausible. After a slow start it also picks up towards the end. There are enough twists and turns in the story to make it interesting. How did When I’m Gone treat me? It gave me some good hours of easy reading. It made me cry towards the end. It let me guess what was coming. It put me to sleep a couple of times. (Or was it the cream cake instead?) It made me feel cosy with the unassuming stereotypical characters. It made me happy when the main characters were empowered towards the end. It did not rob me with the 6 or so dollars I paid for it. Was When I’m Gone a treat? No, not for me, but I can see that it is a treat for some readers. My expectations were high, but I am really looking at the subject from the other side. And I have not been lucky – I was left behind. I would have liked a little bit more faith in the main character, but then Emily Bleek too was looking at Luke from the other side – thinking about her own possible death. Publisher: Lake Union Publishing, Seattle Year: 2016 Pages: 358 Rating: 3/5

“When I’m Gone” by Emily Bleeker I bought this book when I stumbled on it Promo’d by Amazon. I thought it would be a nice change from the mystery/thriller books I usually read. It was. I found myself tearing up quite a bit, but then, I also laughed out loud a few times. I won’t go into the story line, everybody else has. In retrospect, as I try to write this review, I realize where most books have a narrative from one primary character only, this narrative was a little different. We followed along for the most part with that of the husband, Luke, except when reading a letter, then it switched to that of the very believable discourse of the departed, Natalie. I felt the characters were well developed, I had no problem picturing them and accepting as real. I could see little Clayton climbing up in his Dad’s lap and curling up with two fingers in his mouth, while Luke held him, reflected on how it felt or how he felt, kissing the top of his little boy’s head. I could see May, bouncing up and down in excitement and joy, then questioning herself and, possibly, her guilt. I think all the characters were believable, as were the conversations, attitudes and behavior. I do have to admit, I guessed who “special” Jessie was very early on. I had a nagging little voice based on nothing when it began explaining (or guessing) how that could be. Then later thought, “Hmm, maybe I’m wrong”. But was I? As it turned out, they didn’t arrive there exactly as I’d thought in the beginning, but, basically, got there just the same—in a couple different ways. With multiple plot lines intertwined, and a few twists within, it kept the story interesting and this reader completely engaged. Not an “I can’t put it down” page turner like many of the straight mysteries I read, none the less, I didn’t do other things to fill my time or entertain myself when I could have been reading. I’d also like to compliment the editors and publisher. I found only one error- the use of “breaking” when it should have been “braking”. I hate to admit, all too often there are numerous word or wording errors that make me question the professionalism of editors today. I recommend this book and have even looked for and am ordering this author's other novel, "Wreckage".

Excellent read

This was an incredible story, 5 Stars without a doubt. I have to admit that even though I love Emily Bleeker's work, I hesitated before deciding to read this book, you can imagine some of the reasons why.... too much sorrow? Would I spend the entire time thinking about my own kids and husband and what I'd write to them if I knew I was dying? One thing was forsure, I was totally absorbed by this book. At the start of the book Luke is returning home from the funeral of his beloved wife Natalie with their three children. Totally devastated and wondering how he is going to cope on his own he finds a blue envelope with her handwriting on the front doormat. She has written him a letter and these letters are a lifeline to him but as they keep coming he starts to wonder who is sending them. The mystery letters, weren't the only mystery. There were plenty of surprises, questions and twists and turns. About the time I thought all the surprises were out, out popped another one. It was so well done. Each letter just brought out more questions, that led to another one. Matters arise from the letters and as he investigates he turns up more questions, what secrets was she keeping from him and how well did he actually know her, was their life based on a lie? Natalie herself was quite the character, well loved, a fighter and someone who helped many people. You really felt you knew her by reading her letters. She had a great sense of humour and brought joy into many lives. She wasn't perfect which made her even more realistic; but she always did the best she could. I don't want to say much more and spoil any of the magic but you will be enlightened as the pages unfold. A great story that had me hooked right from the beginning, a real rollercoaster with twists and turns that kept me guessing but a lovely ending that tied everything together well. It’s stayed me for a long time after I finished reading it. 5 + stars.

ありふれた普通の家庭の出来事です。主人公Lukeは妻Natalie(Nat)、長女May 14才、長男Will 9才、次男Clayton 3才の家庭に、Natが癌でこの世を去ります。突然訪れた不幸に家族がバラバラになりそうなとき、Natの親友Annyが良き理解者であり、この物語の重要な役割を担います。ティーンエージャーであるMayの悩みをよく理解し、ClayをLukeの仕事をに出かけるとき、預ってくれます。Annyには警察官の夫Brian がいますが、酒に溺れるとAnnyに暴力をふるいます。あるとき、Willの学校のカウンセラーから電話があり、学校での振舞いに保護者として呼び出されます。このような出来事にLukeが翻弄されるとき、決まって、妻Natからの手紙が届きます。一体だれがこの手紙を送ってくるのかわかりません。Lukeが疲れ果てているとき、Natの手紙にベビーシッターとしてJessyを雇うことが書かれています。このJessyがとんでもない過去を背負っていることがやがてわかってきます。これ以上語ることは控えますが、一人の人生でかくも様々な出来事が次から次へと起こることが、今の自分の境遇と比べて、とても対処できないかもと思うことが多々ありました。 英文としては、それほど難解ではなく、むしろ感情が高ぶり随所で泣きました。皆様にも是非にとお勧めします。

As soon as I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down. Such a strong storyline, I felt like I was actually in the story. Very emotional and lots of twists and turns. I can’t wait to read another of Emily’s books

"When I'm gone" ist eine berührende Geschichte, deren Inhalt ich hier nicht zusammenfassen möchte, den soll schon jeder für sich selbst herausfinden... Einerseits wollte ich beim Lesen unbedingt wissen, wie es ausgeht, andererseits wollte ich, dass die Geschichte nicht endet. So eine Ambivalenz kenne ich beim Lesen eigentlich nicht von mir. Absolute Kaufempfehlung - toll geschrieben, mit überraschenden Wendungen.