This book really tugs at your heartstrings. A very emotional tale from start to finish. I was totally immersed in the story and felt the sisters grief.

A good read
It’s told by different points of view and different timelines
This read is quite thought provoking and is well written
First read by this author but it won’t be my last
Thanks NetGalley

This as a beautifully written story and the ending made me cry. The message in the book about the importance of organ donation is so important, and I believe it may make people to think about whether or not they are willing to become one. I will remember this story and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

I was a bit of a mess after reading I'll Leave You With This so definitely read with a packet of tissues.

The story is told through the voices of Daniel's grieving and very different sisters.

Daniel was killed by a rogue shooter three years before.

There's driven surgeon Allison, failing film maker Bridie,  emotionally fragile nurse Clare and lonely baby sister Emma who is heavily involved in her church.

Each of them is trying to deal with their loss differently , but they're all struggling.

Following the painful breakup with her wife and another failed IVF round Clare needs a purpose and a reason to live.

So she decides to try to contact the people who received Daniel's organs.

Initially Emma is the only sister who supports her, but eventually the others come round and Bridie even feels it might be a way to re ignite her floundering director career.

I really enjoyed getting to know the sisters.

The stories of the recipients of Daniel's organs are brilliant and are a showcase of why organ donation is so important.

I was really impressed with how sensitively the author tackled many difficult subjects including death, miscarriage, infertility, bullying , self harm and suicidal thoughts as well as organ donation.

At times this is a very emotionally heavy read, there's so much light in this book too.

Lots of tender moments, hope, kindness, love, friendship and inspirational moments too.

And yes I cried quite a bit. 

With grateful thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When 4 sisters come together to remember their brother who has previously died they decide to found out more about the donor recipients who had his organs. Each sister has their own lives and demons within. A lovely written story

I'll Leave You With This is a powerful read that invokes emotion. Sometimes the story lags a bit, but the characters and how attached you get to them and how invested you get in their lives makes up for it and keeps your attention. If you enjoy books that pull on your heart strings this one for you.

I'll Leave You With This was a compelling and incredibly moving read from beginning to end. Such a brilliant idea for a story as well.

A family torn apart by grief, all struggling in different ways and miles apart from one another.

When one sister Bridie decides to make a film about their brother Daniel and those he helped after his death, nobody could have predicted the deep healing the film would result in.

We get to delve deeper into the lives of each sister and each was poignant and relatable. But I was most moved by Emma's story, and identified strongly with her feelings of isolation and loneliness. It gladdened my heart that the author gave us hope for Emma's happiness.

The quality of the writing is superb, the detail is rich and complex and the reader will feel every emotion.

But above all, this book gives hope and reminds us to find the joy in the precious moments before it's too late. And to never believe the dark days won't leave.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Daniel died 3 years ago and donated his organs. His three sisters are still struggling to come to terms with his loss. Clare suggests that they find the recipients of Daniel’s organs. Will meeting them bring the sisters closer or will the family ties be strained further still.

I took this book to my heart it is warm, compassionate and charming. I loved everything about it from the story line to the characters

I’ll Leave You With This is the sixth novel by Australian neuropsychologist and author, Kylie Ladd. Three years after Daniel O’Shea died, his four sisters and his ex-boyfriend gather to remember him with their annual lunch at Sake, the restaurant to which he was headed for a business lunch when he was killed by a random shooter in a Sydey street.

Their parents had carefully planned their family, so there was a gap of thirteen years between the eldest and the youngest, perhaps one of the reasons that the sisters are not very close. They are all very different: Allison, crazy smart, good in a crisis , a bit scary, is a mother of twins and Chief Obstetrician and a major teaching hospital; Bridie is creative, driven, ambitious, but her career as a film director having stalled while her husband’s acting career seems to be taking off; Clare, solid, reliable, practical, no-nonsense, is a nurse whose baby lust has caused her wife of just one year to leave her; diminutive (and lonely) Emma, quiet, religious, introverted, has abandoned her career as a cellist for a job as the music director of the Crossfire Church.

“The four of them were like planets in the solar system, occasionally hoving into view of one another, but always, always fixed in their own immovable orbits.”

Clare wonders if it was Daniel who kept them connected. This diversity and disconnect is perhaps the reason for the mixed reaction to Clare’s proposal that they seek out the recipients of Daniel’s organs, to bring them closer to the brother they so tragically lost. And there are quite a lot of recipients: Daniel was a fit and healthy young man who had not only vital organs (heart, kidneys, lungs) in good condition, but also corneas, skin, bone, small bowel and other, perhaps unexpected parts, to donate.

Readers who think they can predict the way the plot will go from there are in for a surprise. Ladd takes the reader through the backstories of the main characters to give an idea of how they came to be at the point in their lives where they are mourning their loss whilst also dealing with their own challenges, be they working too much, or not enough, obsession, or loneliness. Ladd deals with each of these with wisdom and insight.

Her descriptive prose is often delightful, for example, defining the similarities between Bridie and Daniel: “They were exclusive members of a secret society of two, flamingos in a family of wrens.” Her characters, their reactions and behaviour, feel realistic and authentic. Thought-provoking, moving and ultimately uplifting, this is excellent contemporary fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton.

Beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time, this book was just lovely to read. I’ll definitely read more from this author and I hope at some point she revisits this family,

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Fascinating reflection perspective and observation surrounding a big family and organ donation.
The O’Shea family of four girls and a boy are complex, with every one of them successful and unique. When one of them dies, their legacy is huge. Full of interesting family dynamics, relationships, dreams and drama. This is a thought provoking and very sensitive book, which may you really look at the choices and the outcomes of organ donation but also this is a great family novel.
Enjoyable compelling and very good!!
Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the read!!

This is a very deep and emotional novel, with life and death, grief and organ donations . This book has it all. Very well written and makes for a great read so long as you aren't fainthearted. I look forward to reading more from this author. 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

This book is very well written and thought provoking. It deals with some hard hitting subjects, death, organ donation, grief, IVF and miscarriage amongst others. However it still manages to have some heartwarming moments. I really enjoyed reading this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

I enjoyed this book.
It dealt with the relationships between vastly different siblings and their individual reactions to the death of the only brother.
The characterisation of the family members is well done, it is easy to identify with them and how their personalities developed over the years.
The book moves between various timelines and the reader needs to note the date at the beginning of the chapters to be aware of what specific period of time we are dealing with. This was my only negative in a good read as I sometimes lost track.
I've always been in favour of organ donation but this book did make me realise just how much it can change a person's life.

Thanks to Net Galley for ARC. This was a new author for me and I was fully captured by the drama and story of the ethical issues. It was a great in depth examination of human attitudes and interactions between the family members. Look forward to more from this author.

EXCERPT: 'There's something I want to say,' she begins, sweat beading again on her upper lip. Clare raises her serviette to her face and dabs at it, her foundation bleeding onto the starchy cloth.
'Speech!' Joel urges, smiling.
She smiles back weakly. 'Not a speech . . . I've made a decision. Something I want to do, something I hope you'll all join me in.' Bridie's eyes flicker to Allison. They are the matriarchs of the family now. Do you know about this? the glance asks. Allison frowns in reply, already disconcerted.
Clare takes a deep breath, teeters on the edge of the high board, aims herself at the water far below before she can lose her nerve. 'I've been in contact with the New South Wales Organ and Tissue Donation Service - the agency that managed the transplants after Daniel died. I want to find his recipients, make contact with them.'
Nobody says anything. Emma looks at Joel, who looks at his lap. Bridie and Allison are both scowling now, mouths twinned in disapproval.
'Why?' Allison finally asks. 'Why on earth? He's dead, for God's sake. What does it matter?'

ABOUT 'I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS': The O’Shea sisters couldn’t be more different.
Allison, an obstetrician, has always put others before herself and is torn between her job and young family.
Prizewinning film director Bridie hasn’t had work in over a decade, though her actor husband is on the brink of stardom.
Clare, desperate for a baby, is bereft when her wife leaves her after their latest IVF failure.
And Emma, the youngest, has turned to God to fill the aching loneliness in her life.
When their only brother Daniel is killed the four women drift even further apart…
Then, on the third anniversary of Daniel's death, Clare proposes an idea: they should trace the many recipients saved by his donated organs. Perhaps their brother's gift of life can bring them back together again?

MY THOUGHTS: I absolutely loved this read. The characters are a brilliant mix; people we have in our own families, our friends. The family isn't a close one, coming together only for Christmas Day and the anniversary of Daniel's death. The sisters go weeks, months at a time, without speaking. They each have their own busy lives to lead, yet they are also each missing something - Daniel.
The four women all have very different personalities: Allison is an uptight over-achiever; Bridie a bulldozer, she lets nothing stand in the way of what she wants; Clare feels second-rate, that she has never measured up to Allison; and Emma is shy and needy and feels very much ignored by her much older sisters. Daniel was the star who held them all together, the glue of the family. They all revolved around him; all adored him. Then there is John Thomas, Daniel's dachshund, and Joel, Daniel's ex-partner who is still very much a member of the family.
I'll Leave You With This is an outstanding novel revolving around the topics of organ donation, infertility and IVF treatments, miscarriage, death and grieving and sibling relationships. I was consumed by the powerful yet tactful and empathetic writing, by the reality of the characters. I felt like I was a fly on the wall watching this family drama play out in front of me.
I really can't recommend this novel highly enough. The publicity blurb calls this novel 'heartbreaking, funny, thought-provoking and honest'. It is all these things and more.

My favorite quote: Bridie has had everything catered, happily admitting that her favorite kitchen appliance is her credit card.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#IllLeaveYouWithThis #NetGalley.

I: @kylie.ladd @hodderbooks

X: @kylie_ladd @HodderBooks

#australianauthor #australianfiction #contemporryfiction #familydrama

THE AUTHOR: Kylie Ladd writes contemporary novels that explore the impact of devastating or momentous events in the lives of her characters. As a psychologist, Kylie is fascinated by how relationships and family dynamics are affected by upheaval - an affair, a lost child, an unexpected death.

Kylie is the author of six novels and two works of non-fiction. Her essays and articles have appeared in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Griffith Review, Meanjin and Good Medicine, amongst others.

She holds a PhD in neuropsychology, and lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and two children.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of I'll Leave You With This by Kylie Ladd for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own opinions.

Thanks netgalley and publishers for allowing me an advanced copy of this book to read. This book isn't for the fainthearted, it deals with death, grief and organ donation as well as other quite emotional topics. It's well written and certainly gives the reader food for thought.

The untimely death of Daniel has left his sisters bereft. They meet up every year on the day of his death to remember the good & bad times together, At the three-year meet up, Claire suggests that they contact the recipients of his donated organs. There are mixed feelings about this between the sisters.
Follow the story of these bereaved sisters trying to still hold on to their brother & trying to come to terms with their loss.
A good book that explores grief & the difficulties that it brings. A touching story of love & death.

This is a book of many emotions as it covers murder, organ donation, IVF, miscarriage and mental health issues. Four sisters and one deceased brother made up this fractured family and only after Daniel is killed do the sisters come together. Upon doing so they realise just how little they know about each other. They've grown apart due to their very different lifestyles and all are flawed in different ways. The joy of this book is the way in which these ladies, united by their grief and a desire that their brother lives on by way of his amazing legacy, is heart warming, hopeful and inspiring. I really enjoyed this story which gave me much food for thought. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review