What Was Lost by Melissa Connelly

When a young girl feels complicit in her own abuse, how does that thwart her attempts to build a happy life as an adult woman? Disturbing memories begin to surface for Marti and so she returns to the small Vermont town she ran away from thirty years ago to face her demons. She drags her unwitting and unwilling teenage daughter along on the journey heightening already existing tensions between them. But Marti is determined to achieve what she’s returned home for: forgiveness for lies told, and revenge for secrets held. Exploring the vast social change from 1970 to 2000, in times before language such as #MeToo helped give voice to these all-too-common occurrences, What Was Lost is a raw, powerful tale of one woman confronting the ghosts of her past.

Adult • Diversity Representation/LGBTQ+ • Literary Fiction • Historical Fiction • Women's Fiction/Mothers and Children

Content Warning: This book contains graphic sexual abuse of a fourteen year old.

Reviewed by ConnieH30 on 2024-10-29T23:44:01Z:

What was Lost is a searing examination of an all too common occurrence. The book propels the reader forward with its plot twists and urgency.

Reviewed by ianh11 on 2024-10-29T23:28:35Z:

It pairs the psychological intensity of Dostoevsky with the domestic rawness of Ferrante. At turns haunting and healing, the novel sees the reader embarking on a vacation-turned-reckoning with Marti Farrell, single mother and survivor. What Was Lost is a searing debut.