A classic Patti Callahan Henry novel delving into the realm of history mixed with creative secrets which tends to be an ever present theme. Clara sets off to London to claim some missing papers that are supposedly left by her missing mother. The papers are written in a secret language that only her mother knew and opens that deep, lasting connection between mother and daughter. It’s a rich story filled with forgiveness and love. Thanks to NetGalley for the read.

I absolutely loved her last book Flora Lea so I immediately grabbed the new one when it became available on Netgalley! I was intrigued that this was based off a true story of a missing/disappeared author. Like other reviewers I did find this pacing on the slow side, the the overall story and message of the book was satisfying.

What a wonderful book! I read this as part of Author Brenda Novak's "Book group" read. So exquisitely written. I loved and appreciated the storyline. An enjoyable and easy read I couldn't put down.

Bronwyn, a renowned author, ran away from her home and left her daughter Clara (8years old) and her husband forever. Bronwyn was special, articulate and talented, she wrote her own book in her "own invented" language at the age of 12. The world loved it and wanted more. But as she disappeared so did the hope for the sequel. Always feeling like SHE was the reason Bronwyn left,

Clara had to find a way to continue on in her life with her dad. She became an illustrator for children's books and won a "Caldecott Award". She married and had her own daughter, Wynnie. A stranger, Charlie, from London contacts Clara with news of having found a satchel with a "secret language" in it. Clara doesn't know whether to believe him, many others have supposedly claimed to have found such a dictionary.

Clara and Wynnie sail across the ocean to London during one of the worst natural disasters, The Great Smog. Wynnie is struggling due to her asthma and Charlie gets them out of the city and to his family estate in the Lake District. Clara seeks for the truth and answers to why Charlie has the dictionary and tries to put the puzzle pieces together.

It's a beautifully written tale with nostalgia from childhood memories we all can relate. It touches on a world of make believe and the hope of the imaginable. Absolutely loved this novel by Author Patti Callahan Henry. Such a joy. Highly recommend.

Thank you to @Atriabooks and @netgalley for this eArc in exchange for my honest review. Posts will be made to Goodreads, Bookbub, Amazon and Instagram

I have loved all the books I've read by Patti Callahan Henry. This one did not disappoint! I love historical fiction and while this one was not really focused around a well-known event in the past, I loved getting pulled into the setting in 1950s England (and also a bit in South Carolina). The cover is beautiful and pulled me in from the start. And the mystery of Clara's missing mother and lost book had me hooked. The characters were endearing. It did drag a bit in the middle and I was worried we weren't going to have a resolution. Though the ending was not exactly as I would have expected, I did like how it all wrapped up in the end.

This was just a lovely read! It started a bit slow for me, but it turned into such a beautiful story about identity and longing and motherhood. The characters were so warm and inviting to read about, and it was truly delightful to read about Clara and Wynnie and Charlie and how their relationships developed through the mystery of what happened to Clara's mother. This mystery brings her to England in search of the brilliant and ethereal mother who disappeared when Clara was only 8 years old. I love a missing person trope intertwined with a story about writing and the power of words and language, and this book really delivered on this concept! Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC!

Review will be posted on 4/4/25

Bronwyn Newcastle Fordman was a precocious child and wrote a bestselling novel at twelve years old. She even invented her own language. Years later at thirty years old, she writes the sequel to her novel, but disappears from her South Carolina home before it could be published. This leaves her family questioning what happened as it appears she disappeared without a trace. Many years later in 1952, Clara, her daughter is an illustrator and working at a school. She is a single mother to Wynnie and living a very normal life. She gets a call from London from a man named Charles who, while going through his father's library, finds a stack of letters that appears to belong to Bronywn and there is even a letter addressed to Clara. Clara then takes a trip to London with her daughter to get some answers, but while there the Great Smog invades London, making it difficult for her asthmatic daughter. Charles invites them to escape the smog and stay in his Lake District home. While there, Clara starts to find a connection to the landscape and her mother's story. She figures out the Lake District holds more answers regarding their mother's disappearance than she thought. Patti Callahan Henry's The Story She Left Behind is a historical mystery that's perfect for fans of stories with a literary twist.

The literary mystery in The Story She Left Behind starts off pretty compelling in that readers are curious as to what happened to Bronwyn. Slowly Henry gives us details surrounding Bronwyn's life and what led up to her disappearance. The story then jumps to 1952 and Clara's life as a teacher and acclaimed illustrator. Once she travels to England and tries to unravel the mystery, the story picks up further. Clara comes across a dictionary that she hopes will help translate her mother's sequel which is written in her mother's invented language. She also hopes that while spending time at the Lake District she will come to further understand her mother and maybe get some clues as to what happened. While there, sparks fly between her and Charles, so there is a small romantic subplot as well.

My favorite aspect of The Story She Left Behind was undoubtedly the literary mystery, but I also loved the setting of the Lake District. Henry did an excellent job of bringing this landscape to life, and his descriptions made me long to visit. While I am a fan of Henry's novels, I felt that The Story She Left Behind had some shortcomings. The plot seemed to meander off course, taking a long time to reach its destination, which at times made the pacing feel a bit slow. Despite this, I enjoyed the literary mystery, which was filled with linguistic puzzles and historical details, such as the Great Smog of London.

Are you a fan of Patti Callahan Henry? Is The Story She Left Behind on your TBR list? Let them know your thoughts in the comments below.

This enchanting story is one you need to read and experience for yourself. I think everyone will have individual reactions to different parts of this wonderful book. It is full of love, family, imagination, loss, grief, and a wonderful setting with characters you will fall in love with.

4.5 ⭐️
Another amazing book by Patti!! Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced copy!!

This book has mystery, love, loss, enchantment, and adventure all wrapped up with a big bow! The descriptions of the characters and landscapes drew me in and kept me reading for more. I love the secret language, magical creatures, and real story that finished with a kiss. Loved it!!

3 stars

I was very excited to read this book! I really enjoyed Surviving Savannah and the Secret Book of Flora Lea. However, this one just didn't do it for me. It seemed to drag on and on. Part historical fiction, part mystery, and part romance - but they did not add up to a satisfying read. There were too many coincidences to make it believable. The resolution of the mystery made me angry - resolved much too easily and without any consequences. Some 21st century language also seemed to slip into a mid-20th century tale.

I'm still very thankful for the opportunity to read this ARC. I also plan to read anything else Ms. Henry writes. Just because this book wasn't a hit for me doesn't mean she's any less talented!

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

*4.5 stars rounded up*

Based on the true story of a child author who disappeared later in life & was never found, Patti Callahan Henry has expanded on this premise & will leave readers wanting to live in the English countryside.

It’s 1952 & South Carolina illustrator/elementary school art teacher Clara Harrington is navigating life as a freshly divorced single mom when she receives a call from a man in London saying he found papers for her in his recently deceased father’s study. The papers are from her mother, the woman who walked out of her life 25 years ago & was never heard from again. Clara & her daughter cross the ocean to retrieve the mysterious pages, & hopefully some answers, too…

This is the third book from this author that I’ve enjoyed & I love all the references she sprinkles throughout her stories like catnip for booklovers - T. S. Eliot, Beatrix Potter, Nancy Drew, & Tolkien were all mentioned. Additionally, she briefly included a character from one of her other works, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, which was a fun little connection to make. You can also feel this author’s love for nature in the settings she describes.

Thank you very much to NetGalley & Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Title: The Story She Left Behind
Author: Patti Callahan Henry
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Historical Fiction + Mystery + Literature

I couldn’t let March slip away without sharing one of my favorite reads of the month. Oh, @pattichenry I just adore you and the way your writing makes me feel all.the.things!!!

{Thank you to @simon.audio @librofm for the audiobook narrated by the beloved Julia Whelan!}

💕Dual Timeline/POV
💕Lyrical
💕Enchanting
💕Multigenerational
💕Family Legacy
💕Abandonment
💕Forgiveness
💕An Artist
💕A Writer
💕Prodigy
💕Secret Language
💕Hidden Manuscript
💕A Quest for Answers
💕Found Family


The Story She Left Behind is a beautiful book inside and out. A book about books. I was really invested in the story of a missing mother and her unpublished story. Clara and her mother Bronwyn had a special—dare I say magical—mother/daughter relationship until her mother goes missing off the coast of South Carolina in 1927. Bronwyn was a prodigy and wrote and published a book when she was just twelve years old! Did the pressure for a sequel make her crack? What happened to make her leave?

I like the way the author repeated a closely bonded mother/daughter relationship in the 1950s timeline with Clara and her daughter Winnie. When Clara, an artist, is contacted by a stranger in London having found a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost secret language, she is initially skeptical, but ultimately needs answers. So, Clara and Winnie decide to travel to London, but they arrive during the ‘Great Smog’ forcing them to relocate to the Lake District. Will this detour actually be where they were meant to be all along?

I could go on and on, but I’m going to save my final thoughts for April when *spoiler alert* @bookfriendsbookclub will be reading this. Check back next week for more on this announcement!

Inspired by a true story - this always gets my attention and appreciated the Author's Note. Also, I never want to miss a Patti Callahan Henry book!

1927 South Carolina - Clara's mother, a famous author, suddenly disappears leaving her last book in a made up language with no way to find or figure out what is in the sequel. Eight-year-old Clara and her father are left devastated.

1952 South Carolina - Clara, an illustrator, raising Wynnie, her own daughter, is contacted by a man in England claiming he has her mother's dictionary to this book in a made-up language, along with a note to Clara that must be handed to her in person, not mailed or shipped overseas. He offers them tickets to sail over to London. They arrive in time for the Great Smog which endangers Wynnie who has asthma, so they head up to Charlie's mother's home in the country.

An intriguing story that kept me interested in finding out just what the note said and what this mysterious book meant and possibly what might have happened to her mother.

My thanks to Net Galley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of this e-book.

What story do I want to leave behind? This is the question Clara Harrington must answer as she dares to dream that one day she will solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance. When a stranger in London contacts Clara with news connected to her mother’s final writing project—a handwritten dictionary, the key to her mother’s invented language—she decides to risk the journey. Clara and her eight-year-old daughter Wynnie look forward to a culturally enriching visit to London, in spite of Wynnie’s chronic asthma.

How could Clara have known that London would be socked in with The Great Smog of 1952? With Wynnie’s life endangered by the deadly air pollution, they take refuge with strangers in the beautiful Lake District where more clues to her mother’s story emerge.

Basing her tale on a true literary mystery, Patti Callahan Henry has captured the sad, lifelong effects of parental abandonment while also exploring the solid anchor of family history and tradition. The Story She Left Behind straddles mystery and romance genres with discretion and skillful attention to historical details that enrich the story.

Readers wondering if they should hold on to their own long-held dreams will find themselves encouraged by Clara’s discovery that dreams are “visions of the future, they are whispers of our desires, they are hope. We cannot and we must not live without dreams.”

If you enjoy mysteries and you are looking for a book with language that is as enchantingly beautiful as the book jacket, this is the book for you!

It's 1952 and Clara is a book illustrator and single mother to an 8 year old girl living in South Carolina when she receives a call from a stranger in London that he found some papers that may explain her mother Bronwyn's disappearance after a house fire that left Clara scarred when she was the same age that her daughter is now. She travels to England where she meets Charlie who found the papers in his father's belongings after his death. How was Charlie's father connected to Clara's mother? Did Charlie's mother know of the connection? Is it possible that Clara could reunite with her mother after all these years? It does take some time for this story to unveil, but the reader eventually gets answers to all of these questions.

The Story She Left behind is more than a mystery though. It's a love story on so many levels. It depicts the blossoming love between Charlie and Clara, the motherly love between Clara and Bronwyn and also between Clara and her daughter Wynnie and the eternal love of Bronwyn and her husband Andrew. It's a truly beautiful story of love and forgiveness.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy. This book is available for purchase now.

Patti Callahan Henry's new book has beautiful, evocative prose. Her descriptive writing is superb. However, as much as I loved the writing quality and am a fan of this author, I found The Story She Left Behind a slow read. I would typically read a book like this in less than a week, but it took me over three weeks this time.

The book's premise sits with a lost dictionary of an invented language. I loved this idea, but the execution didn't deliver for me. The "language" is only shared with the reader as a small number of made-up words. All the words shared are nouns or adjectives, and most have apparent meanings. However, a language is far more than a list of vocabulary words, so how could the language be translated even with the newly found dictionary? What about grammar? In short, this was a cool premise, but it didn't end up making a great story.

Some generic events repeat for no plot-related reason. For example, the protagonist twice is looking frantically through her purse for something she then finds in her coat pocket. Two days in a row, bystanders knock down the little girl while walking along the river (because they can't see through the smog). One of those times supported some critical story elements, but the second felt redundant and didn't affect the plot. More rigorous editing could have fixed these minor issues.

I'll continue to read Henry's books; I am sure many will love this volume.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic version of the book in exchange for a review.

This was a decent read. A little slow start but overall was a good book! Would recommend to read soon!

The Story We Left Behind by Patti Callahan was a pleasant but ultimately underwhelming read for me. While Callahan's prose is undeniably graceful, the storyline felt predictable, lacking the emotional depth I expected. The characters, although likable, didn't resonate deeply enough to leave a lasting impression. Overall, it's an easy-going, comfortable read—fine for a casual afternoon—but not one that lingered in my thoughts afterward.

I finished this book about a week ago, but I wanted to wait to post as I knew I was going to have the chance to meet the author in person. I finally did and she was so lovely. Hearing her speak about this book, her inspiration for it, and the writing process just increased my enjoyment of an already wonderful story. This book is so enveloping - it’s nearly impossible to put down as you are completely transported to South Carolina, London, and the Lake District of England. The characters are so well drawn and the settings are so vivid. If you enjoyed Callahan Henry’s The Secret Book of Flora Lee (which I loved), you need to pick this one up right away.

Beautifully written book! I can’t say enough kind words for The Story She Left Behind. It was a quick read and kept me interested. Patti Callahan Henry will be an automatic read for me from now on

Thank you simonschusterca, @atriabooks and @netgalley for sending me this book for review. All opinions are my own.
“Inspired by a true literary mystery, the sweeping story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both.”
“A captivating novel of mystery and family legacy that captures the profound longing for a mother and the evergreen allure of secrets.”
This was my first book by Patti Callahan Henry and it definitely won’t be my last. I couldn’t put it down. I love when a book is in a genre that I love (historical fiction in this case), but it’s still unlike anything I’ve ever read and I found that in The Story She Left Behind.
The Story She Left Behind was actually inspired by a real cold-case literary mystery of a child prodigy author who went missing in the 1920s, leaving behind shattered loved ones and a sequel to her beloved novel written in a secret language that no one could decode.
In The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry reimagines this character as Bronwyn, an author famous for her novel written as a young teenager in a different language. When she disappears in 1927, she leaves behind her husband and eight-year-old daughter, Clara. Many years later, in 1952, Clara receives a clue to her mother’s disappearance from someone in London and she and Wynnie set sail across the Atlantic Ocean to discover what secrets might be revealed about Bronwyn’s disappearance. They arrive in London just in time for the Great Smog which puts Wynnie’s fragile health at risk, and they escape with the help of Charlie, the man who found a clue to Bronwyn’s disappearance, and the story continues to unfold from there in the English countryside.
This story, which follows a daughter’s search for both her mother and a legendary book, blends historical fiction, family legacy and so much intrigue to keep me turning pages late into the night.

4.5 Stars Rounded up to 5