The Memory of Butterflies: life and it's difficult choices

The Memory of Butterflies by Grace Greene is a moving story of family, secrets and forgiveness. To keep the family secrets hidden, a young mother lies, but when her secrets are forced to be revealed, it could end up destroying everything and everyone she loves. Hannah Cooper’s daughter, Ellen, is leaving for college soon. The change is bittersweet as she desires her daughter to have the opportunities she was forced to give up but she also isn’t eager for life alone. As Ellen prepares for her senior year and college, Hannah rebuilds the family home that was destroyed in a fire and returns to her roots in Cooper’s Hollow along the beautiful and rustic Cub Creek in Virginia. With the help of her longtime friend, Roger Westray, Hannah begins shifting through the ashes. Soon the secrets she fought hard to keep hidden rise from the ashes and when one rumor circulates, Hannah is forced to reveal her secrets. Can they survive the earth shattering truth? 

Once again, Grace Greene writes a story with a tough subject with realism and heart. There is no clear heroine or villain. Sometimes with life’s choices, there are no winners or losers. You feel for Hannah as she is faced with difficult choices as a young woman and now as a mother who raised her daughter alone. It's easy to see the “should have done” choices but what would you have done in Hannah’s shoes? As one character points out, “Life doesn’t always lend itself to clear, easy choices.” There is one particular scene near the end that had me crying my eyes out as Hannah finally faces the pain she has been pushing aside for so long and the realization that she needs to stop hiding, to stop running and face what may come. The reactions and emotions portrayed by the characters are very realistic. It was a fast read. I finished it in a few hours as I couldn’t put it down. I recommend The Memory of Butterflies. 

The Memory of Butterflies is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.