What an amazing, emotional story!! Get ready to feel all the feels with this one! I really enjoyed reading the story through the different POV's. I initially thought we would only see through Amy's eyes, but it was great to see it from the whole family's perspective!
This was beautifully written and takes you on the best journey! It's about everyone finding a way to make things work the way they should again. It's wonderful, and I highly recommend it!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

A lovely story of a family on the brink of falling apart. I loved how each character first healed themselves, which enabled them to forgive and genuinely find their way back together again. Aunt Rae was the leading character in my opinion. Everyone gravitated around her, and she in turn helped each person find their way.

Thanks to NetGalley for access to this book. I enjoyed the journey of Amy, Paul and Carly healing and coming back into relationship with each other after Amy’s battle with cancer. All 3 of them were on individual journeys as well as a family journey to fix their lives after a year of trauma. Their stories were woven together to create a meaningful tale. The storyline of Carly’s summer with Great Aunt Rae and her horses was especially fun to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. And honestly? I WANTED to like this book a lot more than I actually did. I absolutely loved the cover when I requested it because it gave me such a feeling of peace when I looked at it. And don't get me wrong, there were many things about the book I actually really did love...but I never connected with any of the characters... It all starts with a secret that Amy finds out her husband has been keeping from her...and she finds it out on one of her worst days ever. Amy had been battling breast cancer and when she finds out her daughter has the same gene, that daughter begins to withdraw from her mom, like it's her fault. So now Amy feels like she has no one in her corner and she takes a massive road trip by herself, going to the places she visited with her Dad and her sister when she was younger. Paul drops their daughter off at a ranch so she can work for awhile with her great aunt and he goes off alone to work on a house he had hoped to retire to. So essentially this was three mini stories about three people who had to come to terms with their own issues before they can come back together as a family. Again, the book was really good as a story line and I loved the concept of it but I did not love any of the actual characters. :(

This book was a very emotional read about a family that has been battling breast cancer for the past year. The author was very good at describing the struggles of each character and their feelings about their experience. I think the author was so good at describing all the feels, doubts, and struggles because she experienced breast cancer herself. I really related to the characters even though I have not experienced their struggles myself. I found that I connected to Amy the most. I often want to go on my own adventure to reconnect with my true self. I found myself reflecting on my life and asking myself what is most important? This book really stresses taking time to live in the moment and the characters are the perfect example of this concept. If you enjoy reading emotional storylines, this a perfect book for you!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

If I had to use three words to describe this book, I'd choose : touching, beautiful and heart-breaking. What's Worth Keeping is a poignant story of a family coming in terms of a family member's cancer, and dealing with the grief and hardships along the way. Keep your tissues ready while reading this book, guys.

I loved how we got to see each of the family members' POV through the story. People deal with their emotions differently, and that's what Amy, Paul and Carly expressed through and through. Their grief and sadness connected beautifully with how the author wrote about them. I had a pretty hard time trying not to cry this book. It touched my heart in an unexpected way. Can't recommend it enough.

Heartfelt story full of insight into family life and the effect of cancer on one wife, husband, and young adult child. The author does a nice job and helping you to feel what each character is going through. While cancer is an element of the story it's also a family drama about the choices we make and how we are interdependent. Good read!
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of "What's Worth Keeping" from NetGalley. This book tells the story of a family dealing with trauma. Amy, the mother, has undergone treatment for aggressive breast cancer, and she inadvertently learned that her husband planned to divorce her on the day of her diagnosis. Paul, the father, is a police officer who is struggling with the memories of the Oklahoma City bombing, along with the things he sees every day in his work. Carly, the daughter, is dealing with feelings of anger about her mother's illness and the knowledge that she may also have the gene that caused her mother's cancer. They all spend the summer separately, and the chapters of the book rotate between their perspectives.

This book is beautifully written. The author's descriptions of the national parks Amy visits in order to heal are incredible. Each of the characters are almost broken, but they find ways to help themselves heal. I hope that Ms. McLaren writes another book with these characters--they became so real to me! This was the first book I have read by this author, and I will be reading her others ASAP. "What's Worth Keeping" is a five-star read!

Life can have a way of chewing you up and spitting you out leaving you a shell of yourself. I loved this book. What's Worth Keeping was so honest and gut wrenching it stole my breath at times. Made me put myself in the characters shoes and wonder how I would feel going through what they were going through. Very emotional experience!
4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the Author and publisher for a copy of this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you very much for an early read of this fabulous book.

Amy is facing treatment for breast cancer and finds divorce papers from her husband Paul. She never tells her police officer husband that she knows. Their daughter, Carly, is in her senior year of high school and is trying to be helpful and supportive but is overwhelmed and starts making bad decisions. Carly is sent to work on the ranch with Amy’s great aunt, Paul starts working on a house that he hopes they will retire in and Amy takes off to see the National parks. It is the time away from each other that brings them all back together. Paul retires from the police force that had become too stressful for him.

I highly recommend this book!!!

Heartfelt story of Amy and Paul whose marriage has been tested by breast cancer and his role in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. Their teenage daughter Carly is also trying to find her way through adolescence and watching her parents suffer and grow apart. What happens when the inevitable is sure to happen? You change your scenery and search to find yourself again. That is the trip Amy takes through National Parks to be with nature and listen for her own voice again. As she shares her journey, the story also includes the perspectives of Paul and Carly each on their own journey to heal. Beautifully told in surroundings that awe, What's Worth Keeping is both heartfelt and healing.

A book inspired by, but not based on the author's own experiences with breast cancer. The story is told from the point-of-view of three characters. First, Amy, the woman who is recovering from her breast cancer treatments and surgery (mastectomy and hysterectomy). Her husband, Paul, is a policeman who suffers from PTSD stemming from the Oklahoma City bombing, but also from the daily things he sees in his job. Their daughter, Carly, was a straight-A student who started struggling when her mom got cancer but managed to graduate, is now at a crossroads as she struggles with whether life is worth living if she has the breast cancer gene that her mom has. They are each broken in their own experiences and it looks like at the beginning that their family won't survive all the slings and arrows from life. This book is movingly told from each of their perspectives as they each travel a separate journey -- Carly with her great-aunt Rae (I absolutely adored her) and her horses, Amy on a pilgrimage to all of the National Parks, some of which were special to her when she was growing up, and Paul, to his house in New Mexico that he always meant to fix up for retirement. As each of them follows their journey, my heart broke for them and I shed tears for all that they had gone through. But the author wrote with such compassion and tenderness and I loved all the "little things" she pointed out that helped them towards healing. The title and the author's name is what caught my eye when I was browsing NetGalley (my daughter's name is Kaya), but I'm so glad I took a chance on it. While I shed tears while reading this book, in some ways they were healing tears. The title captures what this book is about and I highly recommend it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What's Worth Keeping by Kay McLaren is a heartwarming yet deeply emotional book. Make sure you've got yourself a box of tissue nearby! Cancer is such a scary thing. Amy, mom and wife, is dealing with the after effects of a double mastectomy and hysterectomy. Her family is also dealing with a lot a well. Deeply moving.

A broken family needs to spend time apart in order to heal. Amy, the mom, is just finished with her chemo treatments and needs to spend time in nature to feel like herself again. Her husband has PTSD from a traumatic work event (he's a police officer) and needs to work through that. The daughter has had a very hard time dealing with her mom's illness and needs to figure out her own life. A little long-winded of a story, but overall a nice one.

This is a beautiful book in so many ways. Kaya McLaren clearly speaks from experience as she describes her character, Amy's, journey through diagnosis, treatment and recovery from breast cancer. Poor Amy has it bad enough with just that, but when she discovers divorce papers completed by her husband Paul, she needs to leave her family and return to nature to find a way back to herself. She revisits National Parks and Monuments from her childhood and lets the majesty of those sacred places help her heal.

In the meantime, Paul, who has never recovered from the PTSD of being a first responder at the Murrah Building bombing in Oklahoma City, must find his way out of the nightmares, reliving tragedy at every turn. On top of that, Amy and Paul have an 18-year-old daughter on the brink of her own future who punishes her parents for their "shortcomings."

The settings of this novel, the national parks and Great Aunt Rae's outfitting operation in New Mexico are breathtaking, and the author renders them perfectly. The story of each of the characters, told in alternating chapters give a uniquely personal insight into the emotions and physical challenges each of them face and the author is able to resolve the issues in a way that feels hopeful.

Aside from being a wonderful story, I would recommend this book to anyone close to someone facing any of these crises…cancer, PTSD recovery and teenagers whose parents must deal with normal life amid near tragedy. An emotional journey not often told well. Brava Kaya McLaren.

Heart breaking, addicting, and a fast read. This was such a heart wrenching read and so relatable. The story line was great, without being unrealistic. It took me a little bit to really get to know the characters, but then it was great!

This book was a pleasant surprise. It is a story of growth and healing told through the alternating viewpoints of three family members. Each has responded to a tumultuous event (cancer) and needs time to heal. What's Worth Keeping is an encouraging, lovely story that reminds us that family is the most important thing worth keeping.

This one wasn’t for me. . I did finish it (after skimming the last third). I’ve believe many readers will like it but it’s just not the genre I enjoy. It felt a bit like Nicolas Sparks but preaching.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a subtle character and life journey story, told from three viewpoints. Amy, the wife, has recently finished treatment for breast cancer, Paul, the husband, is a police officer who has been left with haunting memories from the Oklahoma City bombing, and Carly, their daughter. All their relationships are in crisis, and each is caught up in their own viewpoint. Amy finds evidence that Paul is considering a divorce, and coming on top of her pervading struggle to deal with her new identity as a cancer survivor it is too much to handle. Carly has spent the last months acting out and being rebellious, and her parents decide to kind of hijack her off to her great-aunt’s dude ranch for a summer of helping her much loved aunt on the ranch. Amy takes off for a trip to visit and revisit a series of National Parks to recapture the feeling of peace she remembers from her youthful summers spent there while her father worked at a park. She is hoping to figure out what to do about her marriage in the process. I am sure that any breast cancer survivor can relate to Amy’s struggle to deal with her loss and learn to love her body again despite its betrayal, and this was written so thoughtfully due to the author’s similar struggle. Despite all the issues each person was dealing with, I found the story uplifting and hopeful.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is my first book by Kaya McLaren. I look forward to reading more.

This book will pull at your heart. It will draw you in and won't let go. You will love and hate some of the characters but ultimately they definitely will grow on you and worm their way into your heart.

It's the story of a loss. Not just any loss but a woman's loss. Cancer hits Amy hard. In a huge way. She finds out some things about her husband also. So she's dealing with a whole lot. A whole lot of hurt and anger. Fear and pain. Amy takes her life into her own hands and goes on an adventure of a lifetime. One she loves and was meant to take. To find herself and get back to her roots all in one. You will read a lot of beautiful descriptions in this book too. It will feel like you are right there with Amy. In all the beauty she sees. All the pain she feels. All her fears. Ups and downs.

This book is told from Amy, her husband Paul and their daughter Carly's points of views. How each is dealing with not only what Amy is dealing with but what each of them are dealing with also. Each has a lot on their plates. A whole lot of pain and sadness. Fears. Hopes. Each needing forgiveness. This family needs so much. Some deep healing. Some forgiving and hope. Each takes the time to find a part of themselves and deals with the loss that Amy went through. Each has a story that will touch your heart. It's a beautiful story of so much misunderstanding. Of falling apart and building back up again. It's a family story that really needed to be told.

I loved the characters in this book. I thought I was going to hate Paul but I didn't. I felt bad for him. Once I got to know him. Carly was your typical teen dealing with typical things and on top of that what her mother was going through. She was a strong kid and also weak in many ways too. She said some things that she truly didn't mean and it ate at her bad. Amy did what she had to do to survive this. She thought her life as she knew it was over.

I absolutely LOVED this book. It made me cry some pretty hard tears. Feel some pretty hard feelings. Fears were there. But the beauty in the descriptions, most of them, was just wonderful. Soul touching. The sights you will see in this book will stay with you for a long time. Some of the descriptions are bad but realistic which makes it ok. Overall this is truly a book that needs to be read.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #KayaMcLaren, #StMartin'sPress for this ARC. These are my own true thoughts.

5/5 stars and a very high recommend. Have lots of tissues handy while reading though.