When your world crumbles and falls apart, what do you do? Do you grit your teeth and carry on, or do you cry on your therapist’s couch?
This isn’t a story about secrets. This is a story about history, resilience, and the vast differences between generations.
I cannot imagine today’s 20-year-old going through what Lee did and coming out alive. That’s what makes this book special—it’s real.

At first the book reminded me of The Help by Kathryn Stockett, where a young white woman, Skeeter Phelan, interviews black women, such as Aibileen, Minny and ten others, who work as maids for white families, and writes down their true stories in a book later published as The Help. As I read on, I realized that the similarity, a member of the family writing about the person who worked for them, was the only similarity. Lee Metoyer, who works as a housekeeper to the Krilich family, is white and this is a different time and a different part of the US.

In 1965, Lee joined the Krilich family as a housekeeper. When she joined, Lilian, the author’s mother, had only one instruction for her children, five girls Roseann, Debbie, Robin, Barb, Sandra, and a boy, Rob. They were not to ask Lee any personal questions about her family or her past.
Lee remained part of the household until 1994, becoming a friend to Lilian, and a second mother to the children.
In 1994, Lee tells Sandra to write a book on her, the book she herself often said she’d write someday but wasn’t able to. Sandra makes a solemn promise to Lee and decides to start interviewing Lee and getting to know her story the very next day. Unfortunately, Lee passes away that night.
In the absence of the primary source, Sandra is unable to follow through with her promise, and it is only decades later that she is able to piece Lee’s story together by interviewing others and through research.

The Housekeeper’s Secret is the book that Sandra promised to write. While Lee’s secret is compelling enough, the book falls short as it ends up being about so many things other than Lee.

We learn that Sandra’s father was unreasonable and autocratic, planning a family vacation to Disneyland at just 30 minutes’ notice, another trip to Puerto Rico at just 4 days’ notice and bringing back three baby crocodiles as pets. I was amazed to read about the expanse and luxury of the author’s childhood home, with its laundry chutes, among other things.

The story is written in four parts, divided into Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. When Summer begins, the children are all young. When the Fall section begins, the timeline has moved ahead by seven years. Lilian gets to know of her husband’s infidelity (he has a second family) and decides to ask for a divorce. But then Sandra, in middle school, meets with a bicycle accident, and suffers traumatic brain injury. She has to relearn to speak, read and write, and rebuild her life from scratch. This section ends when Sandra turns 23, when she goes to college and earns a degree without her father’s financial or emotional support. This is when her parents finally get divorced. The family home is sold, and Lee and Lilian move to a smaller home.

By the time the Winter section starts, 59 percent of the book is over. By now, Sandra is married, and has a job, and she gets busy with her family. She forgets the promise she made to Lee. It is only after her mother’s death in 2008 that the siblings find an urn containing Lee’s ashes in the house, sparking Sandra’s journey anew. This is the 64 percent mark.
The secret is finally revealed at the 74 percent mark. At this point, the prose becomes mellow, more emotional.

I couldn’t sympathise as much as I wanted to with Lee’s past. I felt emotionally distant from her story. Lee must have had extraordinary resilience, I can imagine, but there should have been more commentary about it. The story would have worked better if it had been all about Lee, whether as fiction or non-fiction. As it was, so much of the story was about Sandra’s childhood and family, her college, her husband etc, with a mere 36 percent devoted to the story in the title.

Of course, it’s not the author’s fault. Lee never revealed her secret herself. Had she done so, we would have learned about how she renewed herself, how she learned to tamp down the parts that brought her pain.
All the questions that Sandy has about Lee, how she is the only one who knows how to help traumatic brain injury, how she lost her teeth and needs dentures, how she knows how to deal with abusive men, her strange walk, her dread of bathtubs, her craze for baseball, are all answered through conjecture.

I have one minor quibble too. Frustrated by an inability to get any answers on the Internet, Sandra’s search gets a boost when a friend, Vickie, gives her valuable information about Lee’s siblings, down to their ages and dates of birth. The author never reveals how Vickie came by this information.

The ending was nice with the Krilich siblings getting a chance to meet Lee's children.

Very good book about the relationship between a family and their housekeeper. This book shows how a perfect stranger can come i to your life and make it better and even more so, become family. This was a very interesting read about a woman that did just that. Good read. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

In each chapter, I found myself dwelling on the small, imperfect steps Sandy took, tracking down memories, peering into old photographs, honoring a relationship that defined much of her childhood. It’s not just a memoir—it feels like a love letter to someone few even knew

The Housekeeper's Secret by Sandra Schnakenburg is a memoir that grabbed my heart. It's an emotional read that unfolds like a fiction thriller, making it captivating.
This was an easy read. The title didnt actually match the story and some parts were a little slow paced.
The story is both engaging and touching, drawing you in with its authenticity.
Thanking NetGalley and Sandra Schnakenburg for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was an unexpected gem!

Halfway through the book, I was confused about why the author was just writing her own biography and mentioning how the housekeeper, Lee, mattered to her and her family. Although it was pretty interesting!

Then she pivots into the history of her housekeeper, and it all comes full circle. We needed the full backstory to better understand who Lee was and to appreciate how incredible of a person she truly was.

I was engaged throughout the book and couldn't wait to keep reading!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in an exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is mostly about the author's family and experiences of when Lee lived with them. The nitty gritty part is tragic and I have so much I want to say but don't want to give spoilers.
This is such a a good book! I highly recommend it.

I love a good memoir, and this one was a 5-star read for me. What starts out as a housekeeper taking a new job turns into something so much bigger; full of secrets, heartbreak, and strength. On her deathbed, Lee Metoyer asks Sandy Schnakenburg to write her life story... but the catch is, Sandy doesn’t actually know it yet. From there, she sets out to uncover the truth, and what she finds is both shocking and deeply personal. It’s emotional, gripping, and honestly, I couldn’t put it down.

This emotional read is held together by the character Lee, a housekeeper who works in an abusive household and ,well, makes life more bearable for everyone.

This is a well told tale and well worth the reading time.

For me it was an unexpected read and I really enjoyed it.

I think this would be a fab book club read as readers may well have a different viewpoint to what actually happens

I loved it

Wow! What an amazing book of healing, love, perseverance. Lee’s story has an incredible turn of events towards the end of the book. Sandy did a phenomenal job brings the lives of her and Lee’s family to paper. After reading this story it makes me want to learn more about Lee’s family’s history. A wonderful book and quick read.

5 Stars – Gripping, emotional, and beautifully written!

The Housekeeper’s Secret is a masterfully crafted tale that pulls you in from the very first page. The characters are richly developed, especially the housekeeper, whose quiet strength and layered past make her utterly compelling. The secrets unravel at just the right pace, keeping the suspense alive while deepening the emotional impact.

The author’s writing is elegant yet accessible, painting vivid scenes and evoking genuine emotion. Themes of loyalty, betrayal, and redemption are woven seamlessly into a plot full of unexpected twists. By the end, I was left both heartbroken and hopeful—always the sign of a great read.

Highly recommend to fans of domestic drama, mystery, or anyone who loves a story with heart and depth. The Housekeeper’s Secret is unforgettable.

I just finished a good book that you can read now. The Housekeeper's Secret by Sandra Schnakenburg is available now.

This intriguing memoir captivates readers until the very end. It is a story about the housekeeper, Lee Metoyer, but it includes descriptions of the lives of the individual family members, chiefly the overbearing and abusive husband and father. As the family grows, Lee and the author's mother hold the family together through love, support, warmth, and caring.

The author writes and researches Lee's story, which she always kept secret from the family. It is shocking, brutal, and remarkable. The author writes Lee's story with honesty and compassion while honoring her beloved housekeeper. Sandra's writing throughout the book is heartfelt and gracious. Her sincere and vivid descriptions of Lee encourage readers to understand and appreciate her completely.

This is an emotional story that will move readers. I enjoyed it immensely.

What a touching but at times difficult book to read. The Housekeepers Secrets tells the story of how a family is held together by Lee the housekeeper, when she arrives and finds the family falling apart by an abusive father/husband who seems only interested in what is in his best interest. As the story unravels over the years so does the story of Lee and the horrors somewhat of the family, more sadness than happiness. The story does end on a happier note and I am glad I read the book. Thank you NetGalley for the read.

An interesting exploration of how a promise to Lee, the woman she grew up with - who spent so much of her life looking after Sandy's family as their housekeeper, and kept all of their secrets - leads to Sandy's discovery of the unexpected secrets of Lee's own life.

This is one woman's journey of self discovery and a better understanding of her own past, which comes about as the direct result of delving into another's life. It gets 3.5 stars.

A beautiful and heartbreaking book about the love between the author and the woman who she considered to be her second mother. Whilst this book handled some extremely traumatic events it was done so with immense care, kindness, respect, and sensitivity. A testament to the secrets we keep to protect ourselves, and that love always wins out in the end.