A well-written, thought provoking novel that will make you think about life in a way you many never have before. Not a light read but well worth it.

What We Leave Behind by Sue Halpern is a highly recommended domestic drama following two women of different ages and backgrounds.

Delia Marcus, wife of Eddie and mother to Melody, 17, dies in a freak accident. While Eddie is deeply mourning a woman he loves, Melody, who was adopted at age 3, is both mourning and confused. She was planning on taking the SATs and then heading on to college. Now, she has never heard the full story of her adoption and her mother is dead. After talking to friends, she questions if she should even go to college, take a gap year, or work on an organic farm.

Candace Milton is a successful HR professional in her forties. She has a best friend, Paul. After growing up in a turbulent home, she is intentionally single and unattached. When her company moves to Connecticut, she leaves New York City for a home in the country located closer to her job. Friends from the city come out to visit her and on Thanksgiving they save a man who fell into the pond when he broke through the ice. His name is Tom and he may offer the emotional attachment she needs.

The chapters alternate between the separate narratives following the lives of these two women. Their individual stories are distinctive and not kindred tales. Their lives do connect, but only briefly toward the end, and in an incidental way, although it is an encouraging occurrence. Basically, the novel follows two very different women contending with their own diverse emotional trauma from their parents and their destiny.

The writing is very good and the characters are all portrayed as sympathetic, unique individuals with strengths and weaknesses. You will hope both Melody and Candace find their way through life, overcome their emotional pain, and encounter future peace of mind. The choice to tell the story of these two women, side by side, in two distinct narratives is an interesting, especially since they are not dependent on each other. It kind of comes together in the end, but not completely.

There were several little issues along the way in the plot. They include: No mention of doing or even hiring someone to do yard work or snow removal at Candace's house in the country. All the climate change comments, which added nothing to the plot. Finally, the throw-away line about not moving with a company to South Dakota, specifically mentioning the Bad Lands, came across annoyingly coastal elitist since that is not where tech companies are relocating to in SD.

What We Leave Behind is a good choice for those who enjoy domestic dramas and can appreciate the dual story lines. 3.5 rounded up. Thanks to Harper Perennial for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, BookBrowse, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Thank you for providing me a free e-arc. I unfortunately I could not finish and stopped at about 25% as this book did not hold my attention. It promised the like of Jodi Picoult novel which is my favorite author, but felt short in my opinion. It started really good with the accident in Melody’s story but I found Candice’s story very boring.

The novel tells the separate stories of Melody Marcus, a 17 year old suburban high school senior who was adopted and Candace Milton, an HR executive who lives alone and commutes from Connecticut but avoids most social contact. The novel opens with an unusual accident that takes the life of Melody’s mom.
Eventually the broadening of their social groups brings Candace and Melody’s paths to cross.

Both women have lives which are easy to identify with but the tension of the novel is slow to build. The ending is quite surprising and may make the wait feel worth it.
For a full review visit novelsalive.com on 6/24/2025

Melody’s story will grab you from the first page and keep you engaged until the end. It was both difficult and beautiful to watch this coming of age through tragedy. Meanwhile Candace is working through overcoming her own struggles in the middle of adulthood. Her story is quite a bit more quiet compared to Melody, yet it is just as hopeful.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
This quiet (read: slow) novel follows two women dealing with "emotional legacies" from their parents.
I am not going to go on and on - this book is for someone looking for a slow moving, gentle, clean novel. Not much happens. I spent way too much time wondering why I was reading two books at once (the characters dont intersect until well past half way and even then its a brush)
I liked the writing. I couldnt connect to Collette's story. I enjoyed Melody's.
3*

Thank you to #NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC!

Melody Marcus's adopted mother has just died in a tragic accident. Candace Milton has a thriving career and is happy not being in a relationship, but her best friend has started seeing someone.

In all, I really enjoyed this novel and the themes of the legacies we have from our parents is interesting. I felt like Candace's growth wasn't as well charted as Melody's, which was frustrating because I really loved the dynamic she had with Paul. The novel is well written and would make a great pick for a book club because the themes and different storylines would lead to a lot of great discussions.

3.75/5

I enjoyed this book and the dual storylines that we explored.

I was sure that I knew how the two characters and their storylines would meet, but I was wrong. I think that the book was well written and I was invested in both main characters. In my opinion, the ending was not as developed as the rest of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for my review.

A story of the time in a teens life after her mother is killed in a freak accident and of a woman in self-imposed isolation and work in a home in the woods. I was close to not finishing the book because, to me, it rambled and there was no cohesion.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This novel is beautifully written, and it kept me reading page after page. I was drawn into the characters and the dialogue kept the plot moving. However, I kept waiting and waiting to see the connection between Candace and Melody… The ending was not predictable at all! In some ways I liked that it wasn’t predictable, but in other ways, I felt like I had been led in the wrong direction throughout the whole story and that kind of turned me off. The connection between Candace and Melody is still unclear to me and I am left, wondering why I had to hear Candace’s story at all when the book was really about Melody.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this novel and exchange for my honest review.

As soon as they mentioned Melody was adopted in the beginning I immediately figured I knew how this book was going to play out. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was wrong. However, I felt like the ending was rushed and didn't like the "reveal" of Melody's adoption/origin story.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and the dual storylines that we explored.

It was kind of difficult to envision where the two main characters paths would intertwine, but I found that this kept the book engaging as it was not predictable in my opinion.

I think both Melody and Candace had traits that made them very relatable to young adult readers, and it was easy to imagine some of the decisions they were making and choices they struggled with. Overall, this was a really good book and I would recommend it to friends and family.

I really enjoyed this book! I anticipated a level of predictability, but instead, I found an unexpectedly satisfying story about people I liked. The unexpected death of Melody’s mother, Delia, sets this story in motion. Despite having been adopted, Melody shared a very typical childhood with her loving parents, Eddie and Delia. As a teenager, losing her mother leaves her angry and confused. This loss is the catalyst for Melody going off her expected path and explore life options, rather than a straight path to college.

At the same time, Candace is struggling with her own identity and future. As a reader, I assumed an obvious connection, but Halpern took me on a very different journey. Despite being past her prime, Candace is forced to confront alternate paths for her own life.

I loved these women and their paths toward their unexpected, unanticipated futures. This is a lovely novel, full of people who I was rooting for. I highly recommend this story of lives, going sideways and the women who followed new paths.

Thank you Netgalley for this novel of the unpredictable ways we leave our predictable paths behind!

Fairly predictable but an enjoyable read.. Well written, great characters and well told. hanks for the opportunity to read this and much luck on publication.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

This is a sweet, yet sad story that had me wondering and guessing all the way through about its outcome for main character Melody as she sees the tragic death of her adopted mother. Does this unfortunate tragedy allow her to move forward and lean of her heritage? Doe she really have an interest in this?
There is mystery,heartache, friendship, anger and many regrets as we delve into the chapters of this neat book.
It is a good read and I believe women's fiction lovers will definitely enjoy it.

Than you to @NetGalley and to @Harper Perennial and Paperback for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

This book had two different stories going on which really kept my attention because I was anxious to find out how they connected. I really enjoyed the plot and there were some topics that made me think about life and relationships. Very enjoyable!

Really enjoyed this book. Will be looking to read other books by this author. I recommend it. I was definitely surprised by how things turned out.

Stories about DNA, adoption and identity are among my favorites to read. This was a book perfect for me to get into. The writing is so good and the characters are interesting. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. The story was creative and authentic.