
The Story She Left Behind
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Julia Whelan
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Theo Solomon
About this listen
Inspired by a true literary mystery, New York Times bestselling author of the mesmerizing The Secret Book of Flora Lea returns with the sweeping story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both.
In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more insatiable: her beautiful mother.
By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. When a stranger named Charlie Jameson contacts her from London claiming to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost langauge. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother’s vanishing, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of London’s most deadly natural disasters—the Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jameson’s family retreat nestled in the Lake District. It is there that Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.
Told in Patti Callahan Henry’s lyrical, enchanting prose, The Story She Left Behind is a captivating novel of mystery and family legacy that captures the profound longing for a mother and the evergreen allure of secrets.
©2025 Patti Callahan Henry (P)2025 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Who is Audrey Hoedemaker? It's a question her sister Maureen has heard more times than she can count, and she doesn't know what the short answer would be. Little sister, troubled teen, backpacker, musical theatre coach, con artist, childcare worker. Murderer. A tragic, traumatic childhood casts a long shadow on the Hoedemaker sisters. Maureen has worked hard to move beyond the violence of the past and build a good, honest life for herself. Audrey, however, just can't seem to do the same, careening from one state of chaos to another.
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Seriously, that was the ending?
- By alicia in athens on 02-13-25
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He Who Fights with Monsters 2
- A LitRPG Adventure (He Who Fights with Monsters, Book 2)
- By: Shirtaloon, Travis Deverell
- Narrated by: Heath Miller
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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But Jason Asano is settling into his new life. Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone to compete for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he is to stand a chance against the best the world has to offer. While the young adventurers are caught up in competition, the city leaders deal with revelations of betrayal as a vast and terrible enemy is revealed. Although Jason seems uninvolved, he has unknowingly crossed the enemy’s path before.
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Contrary to common reviews
- By Karen on 05-21-21
By: Shirtaloon, and others
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Fahrenheit 451
- By: Ray Bradbury
- Narrated by: Tim Robbins
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
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Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television "family."
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Wish I Hadn't Cliff Noted This in High School
- By Joel on 03-27-17
By: Ray Bradbury
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Brain Damage
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Megan Tusing
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
As Charly struggles to recover from her brain injury, she begins to realize that the events of that fateful night are trapped in the damaged right side of her brain. Now, she must put the jigsaw pieces together to discover the identity of the man who tried to kill her...before he finishes the job he started.
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Who Else Laughed, Cried, and Shuddered?
- By Jennifer Chichester on 09-16-22
By: Freida McFadden
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The Pearl and the Onion
- By: Brittany K. Allen
- Narrated by: Anna Chlumsky, Jasmine Cephas-Jones
- Length: 3 hrs and 43 mins
- Original Recording
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Performance
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Story
When our story begins, Julia Child is an eager but inexperienced codebreaker longing to prove herself in the male-dominated world of intelligence, and Josephine Baker is, well, Josephine Baker—a world-famous entertainer who is now leading a double life as a spy for the French Resistance. When a golden opportunity arises to infiltrate a high-stakes Nazi gala in Vichy France, Julia must put aside her by-the-book mentality to assist her unorthodox new partner.
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Delightful entertainment!
- By Ann on 03-27-25
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The House on the Water
- A Novella
- By: Margot Hunt
- Narrated by: Taylor Schilling
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
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Performance
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Every year, Caroline Reed takes a trip with her best friend, Esme Lamont. They’re usually accompanied by their spouses - but this year, everything’s changed. Esme has just gone through a bitter divorce, and Caroline's wondering if her own marriage is reaching its breaking point as she and her husband, John, cope with the discovery that their son has been abusing drugs. Still, the inseparable duo books a weeklong stay at a beach-front home in Shoreham, Florida, inviting Esme’s brother, Nick, and his new husband. After a blissful first night in the vacation home, tragedy strikes.
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Wonderful Story
- By David M. Wilcox on 12-04-20
By: Margot Hunt
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Mary Jane
- By: Amy Herzog
- Narrated by: Rachel McAdams, April Matthis, Brenda Wehle, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
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Academy Award nominee Rachel McAdams stars in Mary Jane, a poignant and intimate drama following a single mother’s journey caring for her chronically ill young son. Set in New York City, the play unfolds in two parts—Mary Jane's small Queens apartment and a pediatric hospital. With unflinching honesty and unexpected humor, we witness Mary Jane's tireless devotion, her interactions with medical professionals, and her struggle to maintain her sense of self.
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Amazing performance
- By Andrew Reynolds on 12-28-24
By: Amy Herzog
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Mystery without murder
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Very satisfying
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SAD
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probably her best one yet
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When Charlotte Sitterly’s husband is arrested for a white-collar crime, she and her daughter Iris are locked out of their house by the FBI and—what’s potentially even worse—thrust into the spotlight of @JuniperShoresSocialite, the town’s snarky anonymous Instagram account. Cut off from her bank accounts and feeling desperate, Charlotte takes up an acquaintance’s offer to stay at a beachfront former bed-and-breakfast that’s home to a community of single mothers and draws plenty of gossip in the small coastal North Carolina town.
What listeners say about The Story She Left Behind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- TB
- 03-21-25
This is the best book I’ve listened to this year. Enjoy!
Loved everything about it. I was captivated within the first ten minutes. I especially loved Winnie.
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- April
- 03-26-25
Beautiful Story! Perfect Narration
I finished this wonderful book in just four days—there's nothing better than a story you can't put down! As a huge fan of The Secret Book of Flora Lea, this is my second novel by Patti Callahan Henry, and I now realize I’ve been missing out on her previous works. I’ll definitely be looking into reading more!
This was a beautiful story about a young woman navigating life as a single mom with a career in a small town, all while grappling with the mysterious abandonment of her own mother. Her journey, alongside her daughter, unfolds into a tale of purpose, leading them across the globe through a world of mystery, heartache, forgiveness, healing, magic, self discovery and love.
Lastly, Julia Whelan as a narrator—she truly brings the story to life. I highly recommend this book; you won’t be disappointed! XOXO
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- Carla Thomas
- 03-22-25
Magical Patti!
Another beautiful piece by Patti Callahan Henry…each one just gets better and better. Her writing is magical and so engaging…an emotionally satisfying piece!
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- John Mayloo
- 03-27-25
Incredible storytelling
This book swept me away and made me feel validated in the sense that all of my childhood imaginary friends were actually “real”.
Highly highly recommend this book
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- Joy
- 03-20-25
Wonderful story!
She did it again! Filled with mystery and magic I believe this is my favorite PCH to date!
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- Grateful Listener SME
- 03-24-25
What an intriguing surprise!
I was delighted that this book took place largely in the years from about 1910, then right after WWll England’s Lake District, which became the famed home and treasured sweeping hills, lakes & dales of Beatrix Potter. Also, a really interesting and important interlude in London about six years after WWll when that city was poisoned with sulphuric gasses from coal fires mixed with a thick inversion layer of dense “pea soup” fog which sickened thousands and killed hundreds. The ability to be able to flee the city was life saving — for those economically able to do so. Another critical storyline aspect of this book I found fascinating and skillfully woven.
I’ll not say too much, but loved the weaving of actual history, art, lore, legend, beauty, gardens, the “extra”-natural…family dynamics, quests for human love…
Narration was spot-on & the additions of bits of music & occasional other extras added to the uniqueness of The Story She Left Behind created a luxurious uniqueness!
There were two elements that I found distracting and a bit off-putting: 1. The main character, “Claire”, I found to be somewhat irritating & trying in her nearly total self-immersion — no matter the background reasons 2. The book is divided up into nearly 60 chapters of about 6-10 minutes, on average, so every few minutes, the narrator must break the story to announce which character is the focus and in which location the action is taking place — even if neither the locale nor the character change for many chapters. Far better to have created fewer chapters; nothing would have been lost and plenty gained in the flow — especially with this being an audio version. Even in print, this strange breaking into multiples of multiple chapters would be jarring, resulting in many “chapters” being only 3-4 pages long, if that.
Overall however, a most unique, beautifully conceived novel, historically based! I’ll certainly reread & recommend!
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- Donna Harris
- 03-25-25
Will draw you in
The mystery of the story across will leave you longing in search of your own truth.
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- Linda S Moore
- 03-21-25
Beautiful
These two narrators are wonderful. They kept this book going to the very end. Absolutely marvelous narration.
This is a beautiful story of love, loss, and new beginnings. Of forgiveness for a wrong that many, including myself, would never find. A story of the love of a mother. A love of a wife. Love of a child. And the love of a husband. Abandonment and reconciliation.
Fiction based on a very real person.
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- yoga mom
- 03-22-25
Gloriously captivating
This novel took hold of me and would not let go. I listened until 2:30 AM … encompassing over 12 hours of listening. Of course, Julia Whelan’s brilliant narration adds to the magic. Theo Solomon has a new devotee, as well. Would rate more than 5 stars if that was an option! Bravo Ms Callahan Henry ✨
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