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The Life She Left Behind
5.0 (1 rating)

The Life She Left Behind

When I wake up in the middle of the night, it’s not a sound that disturbs me. It’s a feeling. Silently, I creep to my daughter’s room, breathing a sigh of relief when I see her sleeping, her night-light twirling, butterfly shapes moving their pink wings. Quickly, I lock the door. I won’t let anything happen to my little girl. You tell him everything. The husband you adore, the father of your child, your best friend. He knows, just by looking at your sage-green eyes, when something is wrong. The two of you can communicate with a glance, or a touch of the hand. Except what if you can’t? What if your happy marriage has plastered over one huge lie? A lie you have even started to believe yourself, in order to survive? What if you have a secret, something you have hidden from your beloved husband and your strawberry-scented baby girl, to keep them safe? What if the guilt has kept you up, night after night, for as long as you can remember? Because, after twenty-eight years, that secret is refusing to stay buried. The past you have tried so desperately to outrun is catching up with you. A faded photograph, torn in half, threatens to expose the truth and everyone you love, everything you cherish, is in harm’s way… Readers absolutely love The Life She Left Behind: ‘Oh my... This was literally “un-put-downable”... This was not a book I could read chapter by chapter and take breaks in between, I NEEDED to keep going!… I know I will be thinking about this story for days… Amazing.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What a fantastic book!! I absolutely loved it, and it is hands down the best book I’ve read this year so far… Amazing… I couldn’t recommend it more highly. Now I’m off to buy several more of Trope’s books to get stuck in to.’ My Little Bookcase, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow oh wow, what an absolutely gorgeous read. I devoured this beautiful book in just over an hour… I adored the writing style in this one, the author writes elegantly and in a way that just pulls you into the pages. I cannot say anything negative about this book, I have been truly engrossed and shocked by how quickly I read this one. I didn't want to put it down. This is definitely a beautiful read by a very talented author.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Loved this book! Very emotional!Read it in 1 sitting!’ Reading through the Looking Glass, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A highly emotional read that had me hooked from the start. This is another fantastic book by Nicole Trope!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. It was that good…

Pages: 1

ISBN: 9781838882273

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Reader Reviews

5.0

1 rating

Rachel S.

Apr 6, 2026
Rachel and her mother fled an abusive husband and father when Rachel had just turned seven, sadly they could not wait and left her thirteen year old brother behind. The pact between the mother and child was that it was a secret and they would never tell.
Twenty eight years later troll dolls from Rachel’s childhood keep turning up not just in her new home but in her husband’s car and where her daughter can find them too, she is undoubtedly scared thinking her father had finally found her and worried at what he will do now. She cannot confide in her mother as she is in a hospice now with not much time and drifting in and out of consciousness due to the pain killers, she doesn’t want her last thoughts to be of worry either. She will have to deal with it herself.

This was an emotional read and is very real for some people. Told in a few different points of view past and present we see how it affected not only Rachel’s life as a small child watching and hearing her father abusing her mother and her life now but more importantly the damage done to the brother they left behind, his mental state and how it was for him after they left him.

Nicole Trope wrote a fantastic book and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.