rosemwood 's review for:

What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman
4.5
challenging emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Told in alternating viewpoints between Clara in 1929 and Izzy in 1985. The writing is very atmospheric, intense, dramatic,  disturbing, and horrific. What Clara had to endure was horrific. I knew that men back in the day would send their daughters or wives to the insane asylum even though they didn't have a mental health issue, but this was still very disturbing and made me angry. This had me hooked within the first couple of pages.