"Where the Sweet Bird Sings" by Ella Joy Olsen was a wonderful, interesting novel about grief, relationships, and ancestry. A marriage, hanging in the balance, pending deep exploration of a family tree, in order to arrive at self-awareness. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

An interesting and insightful read into what makes a person, is it blood, shared history, ancestry or genetics.

Where the Sweet Birds Sings is the first book that I have read by Ella Joy Olsen. Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book for an honest review.
Every body handles grief differently, especially when it happens to a child. The loss of Emma and Noah Hamilton child to rare genetic disease. Noah wants to try again for another child, but wants no part in it. Emma does not want to take a chance of her next child inherit her rare disease. Emma is left wondering about her hidden illness,the one that took their son's life at such a young age. As Emma does research, she uncovers some things about her family that she was not aware of. With some new information, Emma starts to question her relationship with her family, especially when it comes to her grandfather.
I can understand Emma's plight to know what happened to their child, if any thing could have been done, how they could have dwelt with it more, especially knowing what the disease was (or is). The story continues to unfold, Emma realizes what truly matters to her the most, Noah and her family.
Thank you Ella Joy Olsen for writing this unique, heart-string pulling, and honest story.

I am giving this book 2 stars but feel maybe an extra half star was earned by the scenes in the Family History library.

The book started with the main character, Emma, contemplating her sadness at the loss of her child. To ensure we fully understand just how thoroughly her life is 'overwhelmed with grief' she keeps interrupting the flow of the narrative with flashbacks to her blissful life pre-bereavement.

I understand that in reality, grief is an all-encompassing emotion, a constant companion but it does not make for great reading.
The writing was also irritatingly repetitious as the main character flip-flopped between telling us how much she loved her husband and then finding some reason why they couldn’t be together.

I did hope that we were going to progress on to uncovering the mysterious secrets of Grandpa's life. However, the family history part turned about to be a bit of a damp squib and merely a McGuffin to bring us towards The Message of this book.
And rest assured that if you are not sure you completely understand The Message, or in fact any point the book is trying to make, at some stage one of the characters, normally Emma, will explain it to you in excruciatingly simplistic terms.

The writing would have been greatly improved if there had been more show, and much less tell.

I really enjoyed this book! After reading the author's first book, Root, Petal, Thorn, I was anxious to see if this one was as good. I found it to be an engrossing read and was pleased and surprised to find it tied in to the first. I didn't need to have read the first but was glad I did. Both of her books could be read in any order and still enjoyed as standalones but I feel they are
linked. They are books that taught me things I didn't know about genealogy, church history and the state I live in and I will read them both again!

Author Ella Joy Olsen, who lives in Salt Lake City, utilizes her deep knowledge of these practices to craft a story that hinges upon the vagaries of fate, love, and DNA. Click on the link below to read my complete review.

Beautifully written story. It’s hard to read about grief sometimes, but Olsen presented it in such a delicate way that I could feel Emma’s pain.

I won a copy of her debut novel (Root, Petal, Thorn) and it was really good and, like this one, it has a beautiful cover. So when I saw this as a "read now" on Netgalley I had to click the button. But I couldn't get into it then and I tried over the months but it just wasn't holding my attention. I knew it was going to be a good read, so what was my problem? I donno. Anyway, I picked it up the other day and could not put it down. I devoured it. Emma's love for her child and her grief were palpable. It's predictable but that doesn't take anything away from the book. It's beautifully written. And if you've read Root, Petal, Thorn you'll get a nice little surprise in this one!

This story had such a great plot that I was excited enough to leave all work to read this. But alas and very woefully, I have to admit that this book did not hold my attention. It took me 4 days to finish reading.

I tried to like the main character, Emma, I tried to understand her. I do know that the death of a child is excruciating, and I wouldn’t want this tragedy to befall any woman on this earth.

A year after her child‘s death, Emma still hasn’t grieved fully, and her process of dealing with the grief and understanding herself takes her away from her marriage to Noah. Both Emma and Noah are carriers for genetic disease Canavan disease, prevalent amongst the Jewish population. And unfortunately, her child, Joey, had the disease and didn’t thrive past his toddler hood.

Death of a child makes or breaks the relationship/marriage, and that is the basis of this book by Ella Joy Olsen. She has written a mother’s pain seeped in tears and soul breaking agony. Not a single minute passes by when a mother does not feel the loss, not a second bypasses her, when she is tormented by the image of her child and the longing to hold him in her arms, once more. Ella Joy Olsen has painted the picture of such a mother so beautifully that it appears like a canvas of pain amongst the land of living.

But the story loses its plot down the pages, a book which should have kept me stuck by its side, loses me frequently.

Emma, a year after the death of her child, has to deal with the death of her beloved grandfather. While sorting through his things, she comes across a photo of her great-grandfather’s marriage where there is a lookalike of Emma.

Who is that lady? Where did she go? Why is her name absent from all documents? Who is Emma descended from?

These questions form an excellent premise for the plot, but the story goes all over the place with pages of description, with feelings which appear asynchronous at times, and a narration which does not maintain the interest, the curiosity which the questions demand.

The identity of the woman in the photo should have been the main story, in fact, it is pushed way down to the last few pages. The main character, Emma, comes across as an escapist, always hiding behind excuses. She is unsure about everything, and I don’t find her dealing with any part of life strongly or with determination. Procrastination seems to be her middle name. And that’s why, probably, I procrastinated reading this book, read 2 in between. She also has some weird ideas of cheating on her husband just to conceive a healthy child. But this can be just me, grief can make people go crazy.

Some things have to be faced head-on, hating confrontations is no excuse if she is on the path of truth. The rest of the characters prop her up well. The husband, Noah, appeared to be the most sane of them all, and the author has brought about his frustration with her, onto the pages clearly.

On the whole, a pleasant read with unwanted paragraphs skipped, to get to the finish line.

"Where the Sweet Bird Sings" is a very captivating and touching read about loss, healing and family secrets. I really enjoyed reading it.

The style was very good and clear. Emma was a relatable protagonist and I could understand most of her actions. The conflicts in her marriage and her grief were very realistic and made me feel with her. But there was also a lot of suspense regarding her grandfather's past and the secrets the family kept. I really liked that aspect and accompagnying Emma discovering more about the history of her ancestors. The background informations about Mormons in Utah, but also about immigrants in the early twentieth century were perfectly integrated in the story.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read touching stories with some suspense. It was awesome!
And I've seen that "Rose, Petal, Thorn" is connected to this novel. I am really looking forward to reading it soon!

I loved this beautifully written story of a mother working her way through the grief of losing a child.

At the funeral of her grandfather, Joe Barlow, Emma does not want to engage with anyone because she is still processing her grief after losing her young son the year before. Her son, Joseph, died from a genetic disease. Emma continues to withdraw into the depths of her grief wanting space from everyone including her husband.

Emma has much to do and reflect upon. Not only does she need to process her double grief but she also is driven to search for the reason her son died of the genetic disorder. She suffers further when she discovers that both she and her husband are carriers of the defective gene which killed Joseph.

Her mother finds a way to ‘keep Emma busy’so that she does not spiral down too much into grief. Unfortunately, she could not know that asking Emma to help clear her grandfather’s house would lead to further questions and more sadness and grief.

Emma’s journey into her past leads to uncovering some interesting historical secrets, but one of those secrets is hard for her to come to terms with. Yet, in spite of all the sadness, Emma has to deal with, there is family, love, forgiveness, hope and healing.

A wonderfully enlightening and interesting read with a look at the absorbing topic of genealogy.

BonnieK

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Emma Hazelton is a character that absolutely drove me crazy. She grated on me so much so that I was looking for other things, anything that I could do to get away from this book. I finally told myself it's not worth it and moved on after reading, skipping pages for about 53% of the book.

This character had a child die a year ago and just could not let it rest. I understand and empathize with the loss of a child. However, even the other characters in the book were tired of hearing her go on and on and on. Her what good is life when my child has died attitude was one for which I could not have any sympathy.

She tells her husband, Noah, that they can't be together and to find another wife and then spends days wondering why he is not trying to get in touch with her.

Emma is a VERY weak person who has no job, but desperately needs something to take her mind off of the things that she is ALWAYS clambering about. Her Negative Nelly attitude was just way too much for me.

I'm sorry Emma but you finally grated on my very last nerve.

Thanks to Kensington Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

emma is trying to rebuild her life after the loss of her son to a genetic disease. In trying to find answers, Emma uncovers family secrets that lead her to genealogical research to find out who she is. A moving story about love, loss and recapturing the closeness of family ties.

I was immediately drawn into Emma's story because the grief she felt was palpable, I was stuck there with her. As she began her genealogical journey, I was fascinated, and can't wait to start my own. Planning a future trip to Salt Lake City!!!

Emma has been in limbo for the last year since the death of her young son Joey. Joey had a gene related disease and both Emma and her husband Noah are carriers so if they have another child there is a one in four chance that it will also be affected. Noah wants to look at the options but Emma is adamant that the risk is too great.

A year after the death of Joey Emma's beloved grandfather dies and while clearing his house she comes across an old photo of her great grandparents wedding, but who is that other woman in the background that looks exactly like her?

A very emotional book - Emma is unable to move on from the death of her son but will this also wreck her marriage to Noah or will they be able to work through it together

As the craze of DNA testing gains momentum, this is a timely story about finding who you truly are. For a variety of reasons, people are fascinated with their ancestry.
Through her own tragedy, Emma comes face to face with some of these reasons. Urged by her younger brother's own identity crisis, and given the unanswered questions left in the wake of her beloved granpa Jo's death, Emma uses the search for answers to deal with the many recent tragic events of the past.
What she finds is at once unsettling and intriguing. And catapults her into a journey of not only her own self discovery, but answers questions for her entire family. In doing so, she's finally ready to move into her future. Sometimes, you do have to dwell in the past to be able to push forward into your future.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the writing was good and the book was well paced. This is the story of Emma, a woman who lost her toddler son to a genetic disease a year ago. Now she has to deal with her grandfather's death. She is also watching her marriage unravel as she deals with her grief and indecision about how she wants to continue with her life. I would recommend this book for people who like to read women's fiction and family stories.

Where The Sweet Bird Sings by Ella Joy Olsen is a beautiful contemporary heartfelt novel about loss and the search for identity.
Loss consumes your every waking moment. The loss of a loved one just one year after a previous loss, compounds the feeling of isolation and despair. The question why? is naturally on your lips, along with the desire to retire from the world and hide away. This is the heart of the novel as the lead character feels like they are sinking in a sea of tears. "The sun was rising and setting, and yet what was the purpose?" Life loses its meaning. The reader 'feels' the pain as the novel is written in the first person. We sense the despair and also the pressure to return to the land of the living. Life seems to have stopped still on that day in the past, and it is hard to see how to carry on.
The novel is beautifully written. The reader senses there is life, hope and light at the end of the tunnel. "I was at the bottom of a well, darkness surrounding me, but there was light above."
Juxtapositioned with hope is also a sense of hopelessness. We look to others to fix the problem in our lives but no matter how much they love us, they cannot fix our broken lives. "He wasn't a hero who could save the day, he was just a man."
The novel is about a search for identity. We all need to know where we have come from and what are our roots? This search leads to a fascinating delve into the archives as provided by the Mormons. They really do have an amazing wealth of information which makes jaw dropping reading. I was somewhat familiar with this as my own Dad has researched his side of the family and used the Mormons to do so.
We think we know our family members but everyone has their secrets and lies. "Sometimes understanding that everyone has a story means you're less alone." Lies told down the years may mean that the truth is deeply buried. Sometimes the truth is hidden to protect but "I wanted the truth to heal rather than sever."
The novel shows the importance of knowing our genetic make-up. Occasionally we inherit faulty genes with disastrous consequences. "I would search for some indication of the monster living within me." We feel guilty for our part in the loss. This guilt if unchecked will consume and break us.
There are various relationships portrayed in the novel that touch the readers heart. I loved the relationship with the lead characters grandfather.
There were some very emotional scenes set in the cemetery. I understood the sense of loss and the need to speak to the graves to maintain a sense of contact.
There was the theme of healing - literally and mentally.
I absolutely adored Where The Sweet Bird Sings. It was beautifully written, a marvellous plotline with endearing characters. Although there was grief and a deep sense of loss, there was hope too.
A fabulous read.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

I loved this book. It touched my heart in so many ways. From the loss of a child to how Emma and her mother made amends. It was one of those books that will stay with you a long long time.

I loved how this book showed the types of grief a person goes through and how searching for your ancestory can help you come to terms with different things. I was a tiny bit shocked in several places but in a way kind of expected things too. I learned what Canavan disease is and sure do hate that any baby has to get that. I look things up that I don't know and learn a lot. I learned things from this book. I shed many tears reading this book too. But the happy ending made up for that. I wish there would be a sequel so we could find out what came next. To see how Noah and Emma are doing and how their baby is. It would be wonderful to know.

I loved how Noah gave the money to the homeless yoga man. Read this book and you will understand that.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I honest, completely LOVED it. Thank you writing it. I now want to read Root, Petal, Thorn. It sounds great also.