Review: What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross

Title: What Was Mine

Author: Helen Klein Ross

Published: January 2016, Gallery B0oks

Format: ARC E-copy, 336 pages

Source: Netgalley

Simply told but deeply
affecting, in the bestselling tradition of Alice McDermott and Tom
Perrotta, this urgent novel unravels the heartrending yet unsentimental
tale of a woman who kidnaps a baby in a superstore—and gets away with it
for twenty-one years.

Lucy Wakefield is a seemingly ordinary
woman who does something extraordinary in a desperate moment: she takes a
baby girl from a shopping cart and raises her as her own. It’s a secret
she manages to keep for over two decades—from her daughter, the
babysitter who helped raise her, family, coworkers, and friends.

When
Lucy’s now-grown daughter Mia discovers the devastating truth of her
origins, she is overwhelmed by confusion and anger and determines not to
speak again to the mother who raised her. She reaches out to her birth
mother for a tearful reunion, and Lucy is forced to flee to China to
avoid prosecution. What follows is a ripple effect that alters the lives
of many and challenges our understanding of the very meaning of
motherhood.

Author Helen Klein Ross, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker,
weaves a powerful story of upheaval and resilience told from the
alternating perspectives of Lucy, Mia, Mia’s birth mother, and others
intimately involved in the kidnapping. What Was Mine is a
compelling tale of motherhood and loss, of grief and hope, and the
life-shattering effects of a single, irrevocable moment.

My thoughts:  I had seen this book mentioned a few places, saw it on Netgalley and then it was selected as a She Reads ‘Winter Selection’ – it was destined that I read this book, and oh my goodness, was it ever a book to read. But word of caution – this book will suck you in, take you on a roller-coaster of emotions and leave you not quite sure what to think.

I loved the way this story is told – almost in a circular way. Not only do we get Lucy’s point of view, but we also get Marilyn’s story and Mia’s, as well as some of the others that are affected by this whole ordeal. But mainly it is Lucy, Marilyn and Mia’s story. This really helped put everything into perspective and allowed us, the reader, to fully understand each of the characters motivations. I loved that it was told this way. I think this really gave the story it’s empathy despite the overall heartbreaking nature of the tale.

Having been through all I’ve personally been through, I found myself sympathizing immediately with Lucy. I know firsthand the frustration of not getting pregnant the natural way and having to go through rounds of IVF only to have that fail as well. Oh how I hated all those doctor appointments and the shots. So I can fully understand Lucy’s state of mind right here…but – and it’s a big BUT… I had the support system to move on. We decided enough was enough and to be happy with the life we have. Lucy, not so much! What she did was wrong, and she knows it immediately, but to keep it going…

And then there’s Marilyn…she had everything going for her – the child, the marriage, the job, but couldn’t seem to balance it and it was all gone in an instant. I did feel sorry for her, but I also didn’t. I felt anger towards her. 

Helen Klein Ross takes an unimaginable event and turns it upside-down. This wasn’t a premeditated action on Lucy’s part but did she perpetuate the lie for 2 decades and then when it finally came out, due to her own fallacy, she was forced to live with the consequences. How do you even start to make amends or do you? 

This is the type of book that will definitely stay with you long after you finish reading that last page. I am so glad I picked this one up and will certainly be keeping an eye out for what comes next from Helen Klein Ross!

What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross is one of the She Reads “Books of Winter” reading selection picks.

 

Head over to the She Reads website to read reviews and related posts of this book, as well as
posts related to the other “Books of Fall” selections.