Heidi and Johnny have had a lifetime of love together. But now Johnny is dead and Heidi is bereft. She has her daughters but her heart has never forgotten the son she and Johnny were forced to give away as teenagers. Then she discovers a photo on Johnny's phone, taken moments before he died. A visit to the location provides an opportunity to heal the past...
The cover of The Day My Husband Left is sooooo clever. As I've said before, I don't read the blurbs, I approach each book fresh so the cover led my thoughts one way which were immediately incorrect. Based on the cover, I imagined a volatile relationship, a breakdown, a fractured love.
Actually, The Day My Husband Left is an exquisite account of grief and hope, the two emotions cleverly interwoven throughout. Heidi exhibits a range of responses to her grief including shock, anger and finally acceptance. The discovery of their son brings the potential for hope but also the risk of disappointment. Love is almost like a living creature. It ebbs and flows, the spark can catch fire or it can burn out.
I admit to being a little fed up with Heidi for dwelling in her own grief rather than being the mother her children needed. But then I was annoyed with myself for not being tolerant enough. I was soooo frustrated by William and his inability to take responsibiity for his own actions. It is the sign of a good book when it makes you react emotionally!
The Day My Husband Left is great for making us think 'what if' but I can't give any examples or it would spoil the plot developments! The ending provides hope but does not fully conclude the characters' journeys. Life continues and love flutters like a heartbeat.

A beautifully layered and wonderfully crafted tale of love, loss and hope, Amy Miller’s The Day My Husband Left is a searingly emotional novel readers will still be thinking about long after they turn the last page.

When her husband Johnny died, Heidi spent hour upon hour gazing at his final token of love – a photograph of a busy street scene with the pavement thronged with strangers. This photo captured the very last moments of Johnny’s life, but Heidi is still unable to understand what this final message from the love of her life could possibly mean. As Heidi tries to decipher the photograph’s hidden meaning, she is besieged by a series of questions she is desperate to find answers to. Heidi will not rest until she uncovers Johnny’s final message, but is she ready for what she is about to discover? Will she end up seeing the man she loved in an entirely different light? Or will the revelations she will find leave her unable to forgive the man whose death had completely broken her heart?

Heidi and Johnny both had secrets. Secrets that they’ve tried their utmost to keep hidden by not letting them come to the surface and jeopardise their marriage. The burden of past secrets has always weighed heavily upon Heidi’s shoulders, even if she has never quite managed to face up to the truth and tackle old demons head on. Could Johnny’s final picture end up forcing her down a path she has been reluctant to travel down for years and years? Deciding to visit the street in Johnny’s photograph, Heidi soon comes face to face with the person her husband had been meeting that day – somebody she has wanted to get to know for so long. But can she build a relationship with this person and bridge the gaps between the past and the present? Or will her fear and insecurities keep her from revealing to the rest of her family the truth about a secret that simply refuses to stay buried?

Amy Miller’s The Day My Husband Left is a brilliantly written tale about facing up to the past, finding the courage to put one foot in front of the other when everything feels hopeless and the hidden reserves of strength deep within each and every single one of us that will have readers gripped from the very first page.

The Day My Husband Left is a heart-warming tale that works on many different levels. It’s a sensitive exploration of grief, loss and family ties as well as an intriguing mystery as Heidi gathers different clues and pieces together the message behind Johnny’s final photograph.

A superb read that will keep readers gripped, The Day My Husband Left is not to be missed!

I have thought a lot about how to start this review.
When I first read the title I thought... Ooh bad man has run off and left his wife, has he walked out? Has he disappeared? What has happened to him!
Then when I read the details I realised it was nothing like I thought it would be and that was good.
The book itself... Wow. I could go on all day about the stories and the lives of the characters and how they intertwine with each other and how fast paced the book is. But the words... Wow and amazing are all I think I need to say! Fantastic story and very different to most books these day. Dealt with difficult subjects but very delicately. Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers and the author for the privilege to read this book for my honest review

Not exactly what I was expecting which was a thriller - this is more a family drama/love story and family secrets.
Amy’s husband takes a photo of a street when he knows he is dying. Heidi tries to find the meaning behind the photo through the grief of losing her husband, taking care of the business and the family.
Heidi is a well written and interesting character. and like the rest of us has flaws. She is certain her husband had a message in the photo and goes back to the street where he died.
Interesting family drama which sort of petered out at the end.
3.5 Stars

The Day My Husband Left by Amy Miller is a story that is as heartbreaking as much as it is heartwarming. A book that highlights grief and the family secrets we keep through the years, how these can impact .
Heidi and John are happily married with two daughters and have been together from school. The day comes when John succumbs to a heart attack while out attempting to get more work for their business. Heidi collects his belongings and discovers he had a picture of a cafe in Poole on his phone, she can't help but feel he wanted her to know something, so she goes to the cafe and cannot believe her eyes. Her mother tells her to leave well alone but her close friend Max who also works for their company tells her the opposite. Will Heidi have the strength to go ahead and take the biggest step of her life?
A story that is more than a familiar one for more people than you would imagine. A certain generation of females found the pressure to give their children up for adoption. A very emotional issue that makes for a captivating and intense twisty story. I felt invested in this book as I was a young mum myself so this could easily have been me, if I had a different life.
Amy Miller has weaved a story that grips you from the start and has you needing to read until you have to put the book away for some sleep!
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the copy of the book for my review today.

I received an ARC from Bookouture through NetGalley for an honest review. Johnny died of a heart attack on a busy street in Poole. After his death, his wife Heidi looked at his phone and sees a photo that he took when he knew he was going to die. Heidi thought it might be a message and decided to go to Poole to see if she could figure out what her husband was trying to tell her.
She visited the different businesses and came up with nothing so she went to the cafe. As she was leaving the cafe she turned around and gasped. She went home not believing she saw what she saw but she went back and then realized what her husband was trying to show her. She had to tell her family the secret she had been carrying around for so many years. When she told them, she found out her mother had been carrying around a secret of her own for a lot more years. She also found out one of her daughters was hiding a secret.
It looks like the secrets are going to destroy the family and it is sad. But then Heidi's daughter, Zoe has her baby and it is a boy. She and her husband named him Johnny William. This begins the healing process but you will have to read this amazing story to find out if they can each let go of the hurt, and it will take work in order to change the way they have been feeling.

I liked how the blurb gave me a hint of the mystery set in a family life. The day her husband left was the worst day of Heidi’s life where she was completely numb. In pain. But his phone had left her a clue. Now it was up to her to decipher it. She did go to that place and saw something which left her shocked. She had to find her way through the secret of her marriage.

I loved reading this story where a family seeped in grief at the loss of the husband and father made the three women slowly come back to the land of living, especially wife Heidi. Every step of her fight for survival and her need to come out of her sadness made me cheer for her. She was inspiring in her own way. The author casted her in loving colors with different shades of life.

I love family saga with secrets. It may vie with my love for thrillers, but dammit… both have a place in my heart. This was all about love and relationships and the secrets that we all have in our lives, hidden away, never to be remembered. I was captivated by the prose and being the weekend, I needed an interesting but softer read. I shed a few tears when Heidi and her daughters cried. But I laughed with them too.

Sometimes in the prose, Heidi made not so wonderful decisions and felt to be too insecure. That grated on me. Nevertheless, filled with emotions, the story had the three generations of women with Heidi’s mom giving her practical yet often stubborn, narrowed viewpoint.

I loved spending my morning with this family as they opened up their lives and allowed me to peek in. Quite entertaining.

I thoroughly enjoyed this very convoluted book. Mothers and daughters all appeared out of the woodwork. Starts of with death of a husband and a mysterious photo which takes the whole family on a adventure. An adventure where they find themselves. Thank you for letting me read and review this arc.

Amy Miller is a British author and this is her second stand alone novel.

This book is full of secrets, angst, heartbreak and also hope.

The story flowed nicely and the characters were relatable.

Highly recommened.

Heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure this captures grief and it’s aftershock in a way that is raw and powerful in emotion. You can feel the worry gripping Heidi in its vice after Johnny’s first heart attack all the while knowing what is to come.

Childhood sweethearts they have built a life and family together as well as a business upholstering furniture. The day he goes out alone to meet a potential customer Heidi is overcome by a strange sensation and a feeling of dread.

After his death Heidi is given his belongings at the hospital. His phone contains a photo, of a street she knows well, that he was trying to send her. This photo becomes a catalyst for the past to reveal itself and secrets to be laid bare.

Narrated by Heidi she was easy to warm to and with her chalk and cheese daughters I found her relatable. Max who was brought into the business to help was my favourite character though and a perfect friend to help Heidi. However they share past secrets too. I really want to say more but this book is so difficult to review without accidentally giving a spoiler.

This is a slow burning women’s fiction story of love, loss and secrets with an added air of mystery and beautifully insightful writing.

The Day My Husband Left by Amy Miller is a book about living with decisions made in the past and learning to cope.

After Heidi’s husband Johnny suddenly passes away, she soon uncovers that he has found the son they gave up for adoption 36 years earlier. Both were still in school, too young to be married, and at the time it was the best decision.

This book is an emotional whirlwind of a story with various plot twists throughout. It conveys a true depiction of what could happen after family members reunite so many years after an adoption. Mixed emotions with the feelings of loneliness, abandonment are present as well as the true hope of becoming a family. The author did an impressive job of not sugar coating the emotions, but bringing them to the forefront to be dealt with.

My heart went out to the main character as she struggles with the death of her husband, but also with the reality of trying to reunite with her adoptive son. If those things weren’t enough to deal with, she has two daughters with problems of their own she has to face.

Overall, the book was enjoyable. In dealing with the heavy subject of adoption, there are a couple of other struggles that were introduced (I’m not going to say what they are because I don’t want to add spoilers). I think those issues could have been left out, as it was a little overkill with the strain that already existed with the family. Besides that matter, I have no complaints.

This is a fast read that demonstrates perseverance at its finest.

First, I want to thank Amy Miller, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

Love how Amy Miller decided to name the main character in The Day My Husband Left Heidi! As soon as I read that and that she loved humming the theme song to Dallas I knew It was going to be a good read. You see I fell in love with the show growing up watching it with my parents. So, I know how addicting the theme song can be! Both of these aspects put a smile on my face!

Amy picked such creative names for her characters (not just with my name either). I loved the name Tuesday, Scarlet, and Zoey! Each a unique name for beautiful characters.

Speaking of characters one of my ultimate favorite characters was Tuesday! WOW! Did she have a larger than life personality with the pink hair to match! She is definitely fun and someone I would hang out with! She had me cracking up laughing at some of the scenes.

There is no doubt that The Day My Husband Left main theme is family and second chances. These are two themes that are quite strong throughout the book.

The Day My Husband Left tackled some pretty important subjects like gambling, adoption, loss of a loved one, etc. Many of these topics Amy did some research and shares websites that you can go to for more information. I thought that was commendable on what she did.

My heart went out to Heidi and her daughters for their tragic loss.

This book is chocked full of secrets and revelations. However, it is ironic that the secrets all kind of have a common theme in just different time frames.

Amy wrote some very meaningful messages that were scattered throughout the book.

I didn’t know what to expect when beginning this book. I expected, perhaps, to feel out-of-place in a world of grief, family and private emotion. The opposite was, in fact, to be found. The author absorbed me, I finished this in half a day - I just couldn’t stop reading.

The characters are all perfectly flawed, loveable and endearing. I wanted the best for them all and I feel the story is realistic in its approach to the topic of addiction, alcoholism, grief... with all the themes you’d expect a heavy read, but I was happily surprised by how well they were handled without dragging, me, the reader under.

This book has all the required elements for one that is classified as women's fiction. The most important element, always, is SECRETS! That is followed by relationships, angst, conflict, love and almost always, resolution. In this book, the past creeps up on the present and causes all these elements to fall into place.

But, SECRETS!!!!! This has got to be the winner in that department. Everyone is keeping a big secret from everyone else. That can only cause trouble and hurt feelings.

It is really hard to say much about this book without spoilers. Parts of the plot seem over the top to me, as in eye-rolling time. It was just too predictable.

But, then when things don't work out like a fairy tale, it shows the frailty of human character. We are not all programmed to say and do the right thing at the right time. And, in retrospect, the characters all end up as very believable. When I take the time to try to figure out how I would have reacted in some of these situations, it means the author has been successful.

My favourite quote: “I wish I had loved more loudly, more expansively, just more. Because, before you know it, you've run out of opportunities.” ~Walter

I wavered between giving 3 stars or 4 stars. Because this book made me think, it is worthy of the 4 stars. I cannot quite reach 5 stars because of the predictability. It was easy to read and in the end, it was relatable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance reader's copy.

Heidi's husband dies quickly and unexpectedly, and as he does so, he takes a photo of a seemingly random street scene., as a way to say goodbye. Heidi has to find out what is in the photo in order to find the answers to questions she has been running away from for a long time.
A well told, emotionally charged story about uncovering your secrets and facing hidden skeletons.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read it.

What can I say? A fabulous read! I was with Heidi all the way. From the initial shock and grief at the sudden death of her husband, to how she deals with some unexpected news in its aftermath. But if this is a shock, there is more to come nearer to home. She finds herself struggling to keep the family business running as well as dealing with the daily needs of two daughters (one at uni and one about to take her A levels) and an elderly mother who is about to reveal a secret she has kept for years.. Heidi is a strong, caring character and she is certainly tested to the limit during the story. Beautifully written with easy to relate to characters it is well worth the five stars I have given it.

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for an ARC of The Day My Husband Left in exchange for an honest review..

As Heidi tries to come to terms with her husbands sudden death she discovers an unsent photo message on his phone meant for her. But what does the photo mean? What clues does it hold for her and her families futures.

This is a lovely, well written book, telling the story of loss, family, love and above all second chances.
The author develops each character well throughout the book, you really get to know them and get a feel for how life is for them currently. As the story develops and you find out more about the characters and why they maybe behave as they do, you will fall in love with them more.
The book deals with some serious problems such as grief and addiction, but everything is explained well and could quite easily tell the story of many peoples lives.
This is certainly an emotional roller coaster of a book and without giving things away it’s great to see how a similar set of circumstances can lead to very different outcomes for those involved.
I would definitely pick up books by this author again.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and most importantly the author, for the chance to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful book. Great storyline about second chances. Lovely view on adoption situations and how they affect people differently. If you want a book that will leave you feeling happy I would definitely recommend this one and would give it more stars if I could.

Managed to get through this one in a day and quite enjoyed it. Heidi is trying to cope with solo parenting after the unexpected departure of her husband Johnny. However, she is blindsided when she discovered a secret he had been keeping from her. Along with that, she also discovers both of her daughters AND her mother have secrets of their own. A good story about families and the ties that bind us that may also tear us apart.

The Day My Husband Left is a simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming read about the impact of family secrets and the importance of good communication, but ultimately, this is a domestic drama exploring hope through the years, attempting to right the wrongs of ones past and of forgiveness: both for yourself and for others. Heidi and Johnny Eagle are a happily married couple whose love has endured through the years from when they were high school sweethearts, and their twenty-five-year marriage has given them two beautiful daughters: Scarlet and Zoe. Now, Heidi in her fifties sadly becomes a widow when fifty-four-year-old Johnny passes away from a heart attack while out trying to drum up business for their furniture remodelling and upholstery company on the main street in Poole. He had previously suffered one a year prior but had managed to survive and recover but this time he wasn't so lucky. Devastated Heidi returns to the hospital he was taken to in order to collect his personal effects and amongst those belongings was his mobile phone with one saved draft - a message he perhaps intended to send before he was incapacitated. It's a photograph of him standing in a particular place in Poole that she recognises as The Blackbird Cafe, so she decides to go and see exactly why he wanted her to see him there as it's clear he had been trying to tell her something given it was tantamount to his last words. And she can't quite believe what she's just seen. Are her eyes deceiving her?

She tells her mother Rosalind what she saw and she is nothing short of furious when Heidi is questioning whether she should make a move; her mother tells her in no uncertain terms to leave the past where it belongs and forget about it. But that isn't likely to happen and with Johnny’s ashes sitting in a glazed green urn pride of place in the Eagles Workshop, Heidi knows this is what he had wanted. Close family friend and employee Max tells her to grab the bull by the horns while she can. Will she take a leap of faith? This is a captivating, twisty and deeply emotional read exploring a situation and generational issue that was widely encountered at the time of Heidi and Johnny’s early, or fledgeling, relationship - when a daughter gets pregnant and is pressured to give the baby up for adoption; it makes for a brilliant but tearjerker plot. I will refrain from saying any more as it's difficult to continue without really spoiling it. From the beginning of the book when his death notice is shown, Miller takes us back to a week before Johnny’s passing immersing you in the day-to-day lives of the Eagles and works her way up to the death and then Heidi’s grief-stricken life afterwards. Max is a wonderful character and the kind of sensible, level-headed friend everyone needs in their life. If you enjoy emotionally resonant stories that move you but also have enough mystery and intrigue to keep you enthralled and twists aplenty to blindside you then this is definitely worth your time. Highly recommended.