The Road She Left Behind
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Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Release Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN13: 978-1542004213
Synopsis
Three women. Two families torn apart by secrets.
Crushed by guilt over the car accident that killed her father and sister, and torn apart by her mother’s resentment, Darcy Goodridge fled her family estate eight years ago and hasn’t looked back. Now an unexpected phone call threatens to upend what little serenity she’s found. Her nephew, Emerson, who was just a baby when his mother died, has gone missing. Darcy must return home and face her past in order to save him.
Once back in Ohio, Darcy realizes there’s more to Emerson’s disappearance—and to the sudden retirement of her mother, Rosalind—than meets the eye. As she works to make inroads with Rosalind, Darcy begins to unravel a decades-old secret that devastated her family and forced a wedge between her and Michael Varano, the man she left heartbroken when she vanished after the funeral. After carrying the scars of that fateful night for almost a decade, Darcy is determined to find closure, healing, and maybe even love where she lost them all in the first place—right back home where she belongs.
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Praise
“A dreaded homecoming leads to personal discovery and forgiveness of past grievances. Christine Nolfi’s cast of irresistible characters drew me in and held me captive. Her attention to detail brings her lovely setting to life. A novel of familial love you won’t soon forget.”
—Ashley Farley, author of the bestselling Sweet Tea Tuesdays and Magnolia Nights
“Nolfi creates a beautiful, touching story with compelling characters reminiscent of the deep love and friendship found in Steel Magnolias…At the very heart of The Road She Left Behind are the powerful lessons of humanity: forgiveness, healing, and letting go, all woven together with the threads that bind family and friends. You will laugh, you will cry, you will root these characters on, and miss them profusely when they’re gone. I know I do.”
—USA Today bestselling author Rochelle Weinstein
“Christine Nolfi has outdone herself this time. The Road She Left Behind masterfully knits together the past and present, showing us a fractured family, grave misunderstandings, and heart-wrenching betrayals. I connected with the flawed but lovable characters, and found myself enthralled from the first page to the last. Bravo!”
—Karen McQuestion, bestselling author of Hello Love
“In The Road She Left Behind, Christine Nolfi takes her gift of storytelling to new heights. You’ll find it all here: deft prose, troubled relationships that overcome and triumph, and a plot that will keep you guessing until the very end.”
—Grace Greene, bestselling author of The Memory of Butterflies and Wildflower Heart
“Secrets have a way of seeping out and when they do, they will either shatter relationships or bring about healing. In The Road She Left Behind, Nolfi has penned a moving story of family, betrayal, and healing. Follow three strong women who try to come to terms with the past to forge a healthy future.”
—Kay Bratt, bestselling author of Wish Me Home
Excerpt
The harbor cruise had devolved into a kidnapping.
Slipping past the revelers, Darcy inched toward the relative privacy of the boat’s lower deck. She was the hostage.
That morning, Darcy had stopped in to clean out her office with a minimum of fuss. She’d rehearsed her goodbye to the staff, the usual pithy speech she trotted out whenever quitting the latest job. Just a few quick words about how much she’d enjoyed the year in Charleston as the assistant manager for Big Bud’s Harbor Tours.
The plan went disastrously awry. The moment she’d hoisted the heavy box of belongings into her arms, her replacement—a tall brunette with the smooth gait of a racehorse—appeared in the doorway. A girl from accounting darted in behind her. Together, they wrested the box from Darcy’s grip and pushed her into the corridor.