Preview
  • The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson

  • A Novel
  • By: Ellen Baker
  • Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
  • Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (152 ratings)

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The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson

By: Ellen Baker
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
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Publisher's summary

“A family secret, a DNA test, a journey as rich and colorful as the early-day circus itself. Through Cecily Larson’s hidden life, Ellen Baker tenderly examines personal determination, lost love, family ties, and our innate need to discover our own truth.” Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours and Before and After

Orphan Train meets Before We Were Yours meets Water for Elephants in this compelling multigenerational novel of survival, love, and the families we make.

In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson’s mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she’s made enough money to support both Cecily and herself. But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the “little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the rest of the circus, Cecily finally feels she’s found the family she craves. But as the years go by, the cracks in her little world begin to show. And when teenage Cecily meets and falls in love with a young roustabout named Lucky, she finds her life thrown onto an entirely unexpected—and dangerous—course.

In 2015, Cecily is now 94 and living a quiet life in Minnesota, with her daughter, granddaughter, and great-grandson. But when her family decides to surprise her with an at-home DNA test, the unexpected results not only bring to light the tragic love story that Cecily has kept hidden for decades but also throw into question everything about the family she’s raised and claimed as her own for nearly seventy years. Cecily and everyone in her life must now decide who they really are and what family—and forgiveness—really mean.

Sweeping through a long period of contemporary history, The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson is an immersive, compelling, and entertaining family drama centered around one remarkable woman and her determination to survive.

©2024 Ellen Baker (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers
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What listeners say about The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful book club book!

This book was excellent. Highly recommend. We did it in our book club and I wasn’t able to finish in time but even after our discussion, I went back and finished it because it was so good.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Too much detail

I liked the concept but this book needed editing. Too much deep detail made me want to speed ahead.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A little bit of soap opera

Good start, but then the story started sounding like a soap opera with almost every social issue thrown into the plot -in no particular order: adoption, Jim Crow laws, , DNA testing, cancer, divorce…. Just a bit too much.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting story took a while to get into.

I enjoyed the second half of the book. I struggled through parts but that's on me not the writer. It started a little slow. I struggle with multiple storylines that intertwine in some books especially when I'm not focused on the book alone. However it was a good story and interesting take on ancestry and belonging. Would recommend if you like a few moving parts that come togetherv in the end.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding!

All I can say is that the novel left me crying and happy and it was well written and well narrated. I do not wish to give any information about the plot; however, I highly recommend.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Immersive writing and excellent audio performance

The author creates an immersive world, we feel like we are a part of the character’s lives. The story is somewhat magical by the end and will be enjoyed by many. Personally I appreciated the engrossing world perhaps more than the intricate plot itself.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

WELL CRAFTED ENGAGING STORY

I liked this more and more as the story unfolded. The only criticism I have is that a 15 year old girl living in the 1930's in the circumstances she lived would not have been so ignorant of sociaty's racism. That element jumped out as blatantly unrealistic.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Got bogged down in sentimentality

The characters as youths were interesting, and the storyline progressed. The characters as adults seemed less mature than the adult got bogged down in their insecurity and inadequacies, and we’re boring and repetitious.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The in depth character stories were so great!

I loved everything about this book! The saga was brilliant and narrated to perfection!I am recommending it to everyone!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting family saga

I wish the timeline/family changes were better defined even if only with a pause or chapter title.

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