Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Charlie McFadden was fifteen years old when Child Protective Services removed her from her parent's home and her father promised he would do everything he could to get her back. But her mother Betty is a hoarder, the house was jam-packed full of stuff and still is, now a forty six year old adult she feels he chose her mother and her junk over her.

Charlie is a mother herself and co-host of a popular reality show with her husband Ian, she's proud of what she accomplished and without the support of her parents. Charlie gets a call from her father Greg, her mother Betty is in a memory care unit and he wants her to come home and say goodbye. During her visits, Betty has her good and bad days, sometimes she’s sweet and can get angry and same goes for knowing who Charlie is.

The story has a dual timeline, it goes between present time and back to the 1960’s and you discover, Betty was once a successful host of a TV show, about being a homemaker and Greg was the camera man and how they ended up married, but both are hiding secrets and it’s the cause of Betty’s hoarding and will Charlie uncover the truth about her parents?

I received a copy of Good Days Bad Days by Emily Bleeker from Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The narrative looks at hoarding, is it a form of child abuse, the behaviour of people who do this and why their spouses don’t simply start throwing the things away, is it mental condition, quite often starts due to a tragic event, and how it tears families apart and their children have a tough time.

In this case the story focuses on how Carlie felt abandoned, the choices her parents made affected her and the secrets they had kept and no wonder her mother was so broken and ironically like a lot off the stuff she kept.

Three and a half stars from me, a story about intergenerational trauma, Charlie didn’t get her house might be tidy but she was pushing her own daughter away due to her feelings of abandonment, shame and not being good enough.

This one kind of had a slow start and it took me a while to really get invested, but I’m glad I stuck with it! There’s a lot going on and a lot of bouncing between timelines, but it’s clearly marked at the beginning of each chapter so easy to follow along. The last 10% was probably the most thrilling part in my option, so get started reading!

I received a complimentary copy of this book "Good Days Bad Days" and all opinions expressed are my own. Overall I did like reading this book. I liked how Charlie got to know her mother. She was finally able to understand things that happened when she was young.

I’m a big fan of Emily Bleeker’s books across all the various genres she’s written in.

Good Days Bad Days sees TV presenter Charlie called back to her childhood home town to say farewell to her estranged elderly mother, Betty, who is unwell, living in a dementia care home.

Flashback to 1969 when Betty first arrived in town to start work at the local TV station.

It’s told in past and present, as Charlie struggles to make sense of her family’s past, while coping with her own problems in the here and now. Will Charlie ever find peace, and make peace with Betty? The historic sections are nicely evocative, with just the right amount of atmospheric detail.

Not the fastest book, but then it’s two in-depth stories entwined into one. It kept me turning the pages, and emotionally involved. I cared about the characters.

Recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing

I really wanted to like this book more than I did, but I had a hard time getting into it. I liked the main plot, but I think a couple of subplots could have been left out. Also, I didn’t feel like Charlotte’s relationship with her daughter was very believable. I think Charlotte would have fought more to have Olivia stay with her rather than live with her ex husband. I also can’t decide if Greg’s absolute, unquestioning devotion to Betty is realistic or not. I’ve read most Emily Bleeker’s other books and given them four or five stars, but I’m giving this one three stars. That being said, I do plan to read her future books.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was my first book by Emily Bleeker and I enjoyed reading it. Not my usual genre but I was drawn to the relationship between mother and daughter. It shows we never should judge others until we have the full story. It was a slow read for me and that is why I only gave it 3 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I just finished Good Days Bad Days. I'm from Wisconsin so it was great reading about my surroundings. I loved this book. I enjoyed Greg and Charlie's perspectives immensely and thought it was a beautiful story of a family navigating such heavy topics. I don't want to spoil anything, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and can't wait to listen on audio when that comes out! Betty, Charlie, Greg, and Olivia hold a special place in my heart for all different reasons. Well done Emily Bleeker!

“Charlie McFadden was fifteen years old when CPS removed her from her hoarded home. Her mother, Betty, chose her worthless collectibles. Her father chose Betty. Neither chose Charlie. Thirty-one years later, a mother herself and cohost of a popular reality show with her husband, Charlie is proud of what she accomplished without her parents—relative strangers she never saw again. Until the day Charlie’s father pleads with her to come home and to say goodbye to her mother, now confined to a memory care center. Betty has her good days, recognizing her daughter with familiar resentment. And her bad ones, lost in the past as a blissful young mother with a cherished newborn. Those days make Charlie feel loved.”

This book was beautifully written. At first, I was disappointed that the dual narratives switching between past and present weren’t between Betty and Charlie, but at the end I was so happy it had gone between Charlie and her dad. I don’t know if it would have been as impactful without Greg’s perspective, because his love for Betty truly knew no bounds. Reading about Charlie working through trauma, resentment, and abandonment while also going through personal growth was so fantastic. I loved the added layer of her relationship with her daughter Olivia; Olivia being bold enough to help her mom come to the realization that she needed to let her in, in a way that Betty was never capable of. I love that this book wasn’t written in a way that ended with happiness and resolution, it ended with loving and acceptance. Acceptance that you can’t change the past. Understanding that Betty had gone through significant trauma herself- a lot of which would remain unknown to everyone aside from Betty. There’s so many complicated themes in this book to explore, it would make a fantastic book club read!

Good Days Bad Days was the best balance of heart ache and heart warming. I can’t wait to get a physical copy of it, it will definitely be one that I recommend and lend out to others.

Good Days Bad Days
Written by Emily Bleeker
Digital/Kindle

Publishes October 7, 2025

This book hit me with all the feels. It was so relatable for anyone who has ever dealt with someone who has dementia or Alzheimer’s. Charlie McFadden dealt with alot in life with being removed by CPS at 15 due to her mothers hoarding, having her mothers hoarding chosen over her by both parents. You could truly feel all the emotions that Charlie was dealing with coming back to her home that she was taken from at 15 after 31 years to help try to save it. It was really a feel good but also heartbreaking read and it truly kept my attention the whole book I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All words are my own.

This book got me in the feels. It’s emotional, honest, and beautifully written. I really connected with Charlie’s story, going back home, facing her past, and dealing with her mom’s dementia. The “good days” and “bad days” broke my heart in the best way.

If you like family dramas with depth, a little mystery, and a lot of heart, definitely add this to your list

Charlie (Charlotte, Lottie) McFadden is a TV host ah la Joanna Gaines who, at a crisis in her own home, is called by her father that he needed help with their home. Her mother, Betty, is in memory care, had been a hoarder to the point that Charlie was removed from the home at age 15 to foster care. She never went back.

The timeline as remembered through her dad then switches back and forth between the present day and Betty’s history, which is becoming exposed with the extensive cleaning. Her dad has always supported Betty to the exclusion of Charlie and still does.

The “good” days? That’s according to the nurse handling Betty, the days when Betty knows who she is, but also the one who is angry, disagreeable, and recognizes Charlie. Not at all the loving mother of “Laura,” who on “bad” days doesn’t recognize Charlie and is a soft spoken, kindly, and loving mother. It’s the disease, the dementia.

As Charlie hammers away at Betty on bad days, trying to get to the truth of her history, there are hints of a twist. Who is…was…Laura? What’s with her father? Why won’t he talk to Charlie, fill in all the blanks?

A powerful story that examines, dissects, and disseminates dementia; sympathetic, clueless, difficult. That the house and hoarding was chosen over Charlie, their daughter, is a mantra throughout the book. There are themes of a fractured, enabled marriage, damaged family dynamics, secrets, and emotional dimensions.

The setting of Lake Geneva is lovely, bringing to mind our one trip there to explore and taste the food, drink in the scenery. A tourist destination. 4.5

If I could describe this book in one word, it would be……. Brilliant. Good Days Bad Days is a soul searching, gut wrenching, beautiful masterpiece.
As a teenager, Charlie was taken from her parents’ home by social services with a promise from her father that he and her mother would purge the house filled with hoarded items and come for her. A broken-hearted Charlie waited and waited, but that day never came.

Nearly three decades later, Charlie is all grown up. A wife and mother herself, she is the cohost of a home repair reality tv show called Second Chance Renovation with her husband Ian. When she receives a call from her father telling her that her mother is in a memory care facility and asks for her help fixing up the house so he can bring her home, Charlie, who is in the middle of her own marital troubles heads back to the place she swore she would never return to.

The story weaves between past and present as we learn the remarkable story of Betty (just wow!) and gain a deeper understanding of what led to the person she has become while delving into the world of dementia and navigating the struggles associated with it. It also focuses on the reconstruction of the relationships in Charlie’s life. As if that is not enough, this is also a love story. One that is the depth of love that we all hope for.
The characters and relationships are so rich and well developed you can feel them come alive on the pages and the descriptive prose paints such beautiful scenes that the reader is transported in time.

Heart wrenching yet heartwarming, Good Days Bad Days is full of twists. There are so many lessons to take away from this book. I laughed. I cried. My heart was full. My heart was broken, A truly gorgeous masterpiece by Emily Bleeker that should read and reread.

Thank you so much to Emily Bleeker for the ARC of this book. This is one of my most treasured reads and I cannot wait until this book is released so I can gift copies to all of the readers in my life.

This was a book I started and was unsure I’d finish but as the story progressed I became invested in the storyline and am so glad I continued it as it held many important and emotional subjects, which interweaved into a family centred novel which tackled many difficult complex subjects.

Charlie had not been in contact with her parents since she was taken into care at 15 because her home was unstable due to her mother’s hoarding.problem. Thirty one years has passed and her father reaches out for her help, as her mother has been put into a memory care centre and cannot come home until their house is uncluttered.

Betty her mum, has good days when she remembers Charlie and bad ones when she is calling Charlie by a different name. Charlie struggles with her own resentment of being abandoned but also wants to understand why her parents never reached out to her before now.

The dual timeline of the book let me understand the history behind each character. How the past can affect our future is beautifully explored, along with the importance of facing our problems to enable healing instead of burying them , which only makes things worse. As I read the backstories of Charlie’s parents it allowed me to get to know the younger versions of them, one their daughter had never seen .

So many different topics were explored in this story. Dementia is such a horrible illness, and one which affects not only the suffering but their family in a profound way. Hoarding and other such obsessive behaviours can stem back to buried trauma and anything which educates us on such behaviours I feel is helpful.

The honest no frills writing in this book really resonated with me, it was real life, the struggles we face when coming to terms with the past, learning to love and accept another persons flaws to enable and enrich our own life is a lesson worth learning.

Overall this was a deeply moving read, which held love and family at its centre. It will stay with me for a long time

Good Days Bad Days by Emily Bleeker was a very powerful book.
The story follows Charlie (Charlotte/Lottie) McFadden, who is a reality TV star ala Chip and Joanna Gaines.
Charlie was removed from her family's home at the age of 15 and placed in foster care due to the serious hoarding issues in the home.

Her father calls to tell her that her Mom, Betty, is in a memory care facility and he needs help with the house or he will lose their home.
Charlie has just experienced a crisis in her own marriage, and goes home to help.

This book was great on so many levels.
It explored marriage and healing after infidelity, dementia and how a family is affected, and how to heal a long-held trauma.
The book does a great job of helping the reader to understand how truly overwhelming a hoarded house can be and how challenging it can be to part with things. In one room alone, they talk about taking our 60 bags of trash.

What resonated the strongest for me was the Mom, Betty, who is dealing with dementia. My own mother was also named Betty, and struggled with dementia in her final years, spending time in a memory care facility as well, so this really spoke to me.
What was interesting was that when Charlie's mom was having a "good day" it meant she remembered who Charlie was and was mean and agitated. When Betty was having a "bad day" she just thought Charlie was her friend Laura, and was a pleasure to be around. I thought it was very interesting how the definition of whether a day was good or bad depended on the person who was relating to Betty.

I also loved the setting of Lake Geneva! I am from the Chicago area and the descriptions of Lake Geneva were so on point, it was like I could see a movie happening in my head! Several of the locations I have been to over the past years (Sugar Shack-I'm looking at you! LOL)

I also like the true to life details about things that went on in the past,
There are some really deep truths in the book.
In Chapter 16 it says "Necessity is a harsh but precise teacher" so true!
Bleeker uses beautiful prose throughout in various sections, "The setting sun has turned the world to pink and orange, the sky filled with creamsicle-colored pulled taffy clouds"

I will close with another deep truth from Chapter 29: "Love is a matter of substance. It takes great effort and time to build and needs a strong foundation. It requires constant tending."

Loved this book, thanks very much to NetGalley, Lake Union, and of course Emily Bleeker for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

This was an enjoyable read for the most part, and I kept reading to find out what Betty's history was and why it contributed to her hoarding. But some of the sections I thought were too drawn out and murky, especially the chapters by Betty's husband/Charlie's father. I felt more connected to Lottie and her story. Would like to have seen the other side of the story from Betty's point of view instead of her husband;s. I think that would have made me feel more emotionally connected to Betty because I didn't get that from this novel.

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

This starts with the story of a little girl who was removed from her home when she was 15 because of her parents extreme hoarding and unsafe living conditions. She grew up in foster care and never forgave them for abandoning her. As an adult she has a very successful home renovation show with her husband. One day she gets a call from her father to see her mother who has dementia. He needs help to clean up the house or he’ll lose guardianship. The novel continues with the family trying to get rid of the belongings that took years to accumulate. Infidelity, lies and secrets plus family drama made this book interesting. Do we ever really know our parents before they became our parents? Thanks NetGalley for an arc.

,I’ve never came across a book this unique nor have I wanted to write a review before I even finished this book! I went into this book blindly,thinking this would be a good read to explore new genres.I was not excepting a LIFE CHANGING reed like this! Like I wanted to read the full story quickly but I also never wanted it to end 😢.
The title is also so appropriate .”Good days” are not exactly good days for Charlie as they are the days where Betty remembers Charlie and hates her.”Bad days” are when Betty doesn’t remember Charlie and think Charlie is a mysterious girl called Laura?
Instead of your average “both love interests’” pov ,this book shows Charlie’s (our main lead) her dad’s pov from all the way back back when he was working .While Charlie is trying to uncover the piece of her family’s history that was never told to her after she was taken away by CPS because of her mother’s hoarding disorder,we see the story from her dad’s pov.From here,we can understand other of their feelings.How Charlie is willing to go through a lot just to uncover her family’s history and why her dad(Greg) seems to want to keep it from her.
I love the “and kids, this is how I met your mother “vibe and love his yearning for Betty(Charlie’s mother)It made me tear up reading their love story.They had been through so much 🥹🥹
I also love the love triangleish vibe going on at Charlie’s pov.Like between Ian(HER HUSBAND)and Cam (her first bf).I hated how Ian treated her and gave her mixed signals.Like what do you mean you married her and then sent messages to some chick online although taking Charlie out for a fancy dinner made up for it .I was team Cam at first but jealous Ian?🫢
Charlie’s friend group is also goal!Like supportive best friends that are fun and willing to watch hundreds of tv tapes about your mother’s old show to find out your history together?Awesome
Also I love the new perspective this book came with.Charlie is 47 years old and has 2 twins and a daughter!This is relatively new to me since I tend to stick with high-school/ya books with younger leads.
Can we also talk about all the loose ends being tied up??At first I was weirded out about Betty calling her own daughter Laura.Like who is Laura.As the story progressed I discovered more and more about Betty.And God,the twists in Betty’s history are insane!
This book is amazing in so many ways I can’t even explain!You just have to wait for its release on October and find out yourself!

Good Days Bad Days by Emily Bleeker
Charlie was removed from her home when she was 15 because of her parents extreme hoarding and unsafe living conditions. She never forgave them for not making things better and getting her back and she’s never went back. Now as an adult her father calls on her to come see her mother, who’s in a nursing home with dementia and to help him ‘clean’ up their ever deteriorating home. In doing so she meets a mother she never really knew. A very good read!
I work w the elderly and some with dementia so this one really hit home.

This was a heartbreaking read! Charlie has not been in contact with her parents since CPS came and removed her due to her mother's hoarding. Now, 30 years later, Charlie's dad reaches out needing help with the house. Betty, Charlie's mother, is suffering from memory issues and is in a memory facility until the house is safe for her return. As Charlie and her father work through the house, memories and secrets come up to the surface. This is the story of not only Charlie and her parents but also Charlie and her daughter and the legacy of secret keeping.

This was a heart wrenching read! It has great characters and I was dying to find out all of Betty's secrets. I really enjoyed the way the story moved from the present time and back to the past of the parents' love story. Betty was such a complex character that I grew to understand and love. This was a good read!

This book follows Charlotte, who is a successful TV personality with her husband Ian on a home renovation show, reminiscent of HGTV. The story alternates between her life and what she is experiencing, and her father Greg's younger years when he met his wife Betty, Charlotte's mother. Greg has called Charlotte to have her come into town to her childhood home to help clean it up, as Betty has suffered from hoarding disorder since Charlotte's childhood. Now that Betty has been put into a rehab facility, and the house has been deemed unsafe due to the hoarding, Greg needs help saving the home and his guardianship status for Betty. Despite any resentment she might feel she promised her father that if he wanted to fix things with the house, and the hoarding that she would be there to help, so she came. Greg's call couldn't have come at a better time as Charlotte and Ian are suffering some difficulties in their marriage and Charlotte just needs to get away for a while. Charlotte came to help her father, but she ends up learning so much about the parents she never fully knew, as well as learning about herself and what really matters. This book was hard to read because Betty reminds me a lot of my own mother in many ways, and I had many of the same experiences with how my mother would treat me at times. That being said, I loved the development of the story, and how it still makes you think that maybe in the end things happen they way they were meant to whether it's good or bad. After all, we all have good and bad days!