Bookclub Favorite Winner of New Adult Fiction—Beverly Hills Book Awards for 2016 Winner of the 2016 SILVER Medal for Best Fiction in Drama from Readers Favorites Finalist USA Best Books Awards 2016 in Literary Fiction and in New Fiction Inspired by a true story about mothers, daughters, and impossible choices—Jules Foster, a child psychologist, upon hearing news of her estranged, narcissistic … narcissistic mother’s terminal diagnosis, chooses to care for her mother over her own daughter, only to find out she has been betrayed all along. Things Unsaid asks us to consider what children owe their aging parents and siblings.
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Define family. To what lengths would you go to support your family? What if your family expected you to support them? Is it selfish to expect others to bail you out? Is it selfish to change your priorities in a way that cuts off others? These are some of the questions I asked myself as I read this story about parents, siblings, spouses, children, careers, poor choices, love, life, decisions, and time getting away from us. Very good story.
Things Unsaid by Diana Y. Paul is a very different type of story than I am not used to reading. This painfully honest and brutal story is about a dysfunctional family and the most narcissistic mother I have ever met! At times I found this story difficult to read and thought I may not finish. This story that deals with difficult family issues, relationships, duty, obligation and entitlement. The characters are complex and flawed yet very human. A privileged family with toxic behaviors and very real issues to deal with. They will show you their sense of obligation to each other and how each members suffers despite their “best” intentions. They each are only human and can handle only so much. This powerful and inspiring kept me turning the pages and wanting more!
Thank you Diana Y. Paul, She Writes Press and Book and Wine Lovers for allowing me the privilege of reading and reviewing this riveting novel.
#thingsunsaid #dianaypaul # shewritespress. #bookmail
Diana Paul creates a cast of characters you can relate to and will love and hate. None of them are perfect, but they are all interesting and engaging in their flaws. Paul designs the perfect situations to challenge her characters’ morals and needs. You’ll be kept enthralled through the whole book. We’ve all known (or lived in) families like this one!
This story was almost hard to digest, because it speaks of a family in such dysfunction that it is painstaking to read. But, that is exactly what makes this story so wonderful and different.
To tell a tale of a family that is always at its breaking point must have been hard to do; but, Diane Y. Paul gives them a very loud voice. While uncomfortable at times, I did enjoy this book. I almost had to put it down at the beginning because of the sheer amount of pain on each page, but I am glad I didn’t. I ended up reading the entire book, in just one sitting. I was completely enraptured with the story.
This is the story of Bob and Aida Whitman and their three children, and grandchildren. We learn how Bob and Aida meet, and how they raise their two daughters, Jules and Joanne and son, Andrew. And, then years later, we learn how these children figure out how to take care of their ailing parents.
Their eldest daughter, Jules was a hero to me. She tried to do everything right by her parents, even if they had not done the same for her. She was the entire family’s safety net. Losing herself along the way may have been enevitable.
Diane Y. Paul writes of a time in life that we will all encounter.
No matter what, losing our parents is never easy. Not even for the Whitman family. Even when walking away may have been the easiest thing to do.
This is a wonderfully engrossing read.
I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Once you open to the first page, you’re caught in this mother-daughter dance. It’s a dynamic we’ve witnessed and, hopefully, never experienced. Because Diane Paul knows that people become who they are because of their own passage presents disappointment and trauma, this is not a mother-bashing novel. Read it for yourself.
I knew the premise of this book before I started it so I had myself prepared. It still was difficult and emotional at times. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.
In Things Unsaid, we are plunged headfirst into the complicated dynamics of a family with three grown children and their aging parents living beyond their means. As the oldest of the three, Jules, who lives in another state, feels obligated to help support her parents’ extravagent lifestyle, manage their medical emergencies, and cater to the narcissistic and demanding whims of their once glamorous mother, Aida, to the detriment of her own family. The “baby” of the family, Joanne, who lives near her parents, follows her mother’s spoiled example and expects Jules to come to her rescue as well. Meanwhile, Andrew, the only son, can do no wrong in Aida’s eyes, even though he keeps his distance. As her parents decline, Jules gets sucked deeper into their orbit until her own family rebels, and she is forced to face her assumptions and to make some hard choices. Although the story focuses on Jules, it is told through the inner voices of multiple family members so that we understand their perspectives first-hand. Readers may not like the people in this archetypal nuclear family, especially the toxic Aida, and their self-centered or misguided behaviors may make you want to scream at times: grow a spine, be less selfish, take responsibility! We don’t root for them as much as suffer with them. Yet, Paul manages to help us see the humanity in each of them, to feel a shred of sympathy and understanding, to feel that some level of redemption is possible as things come to a head. This masterfully told story haunted me long after I put it down and kept me thinking.
Book clubs will savor this story of family dynamics and the questions of love and duty the protagonist Jules must face while navigating her mother’s narcissism and the secrets hidden by her siblings. A beautifully written book with a message of redemption and healing at its core. Highly recommended.
“Family and dysfunction went together-like peanut butter and jelly.” Wow, so true! Things Unsaid is the story of one family’s dysfunction. Out of 3 siblings, Julie has always tried to be the “good” daughter but always seems to fall short where her narcissistic mother is concerned. The story is told from the viewpoint of each family member and let me see a bit of each character’s personality. Things Unsaid would be the perfect bookclub read…lots to discuss!
“Things Unsaid” by Diana Y. Paul
Jules and her siblings Joanne and Andrew are stuck in a moral dilemma: what to do with their elderly parents? For Jules, choosing between your family and the one you create is potentially the hardest choice of all.
This story is one you really have to open and delve into for yourself. There’s a lot going on within this family, each sibling dysfunctional in their own way. As for the parents, Aida is incredibly narcissistic and Bob is stubbornly weak. This story is not plot driven but rather character driven instead. It focuses on Jules, Joanne, and Andrew the most, discussing their upbringing and life experiences that have led them to where they are today.
I received this book as part of a book tour hosted by the author. I’d like to tag and thank @dianay.paulauthor and @bookandwinelovers for the opportunity to read and review.
I found this book to drag a little bit and I also struggled to keep up with who was who at certain times. Jules was the only character I didn’t seem to loathe and I found myself wondering how I’d handle her situation if I were in shoes. I thought the questions the story makes you consider were great, as this is something we’ll all have to deal with some day. Overall though, I didn’t really enjoy this book. I wanted to but it just wasn’t there. 3
I couldn’t put this book down. Not because it was a “fun” read — because it was anything but. Rather, it was a painfully honest, and brutally insightful portrayal of a real family, and the agonies that each of its members suffer, despite everyone’s best intentions.
You’d think that the Whitmans had everything going for them. The father is a doctor. The mother is a glamorous ex-singer. One son is a dentist. One daughter is a former Stanford professor and psychologist. What could go wrong? Yeah, right.
The author has a biting wit, and great attention to detail. Here’s how she describes a prof who tries to intimidate female colleagues into sex. “He was a lecherous, seventy-something psychiatrist of some fame and notoriety… He had a thin goatee and the kind of lean, muscular body mass that only the old obsessed over as a way to control the only facet of aging they could: weight.”
I had some issues with the novel. One was that Jules, the main character, was a brilliant woman, yet refused to stop enabling her parents’ lavish spending, even when it hurt her husband and daughter. I felt that she was a bit TOO self-sacrificing. I found myself wanting to shake her, arguing with her that it was about time she got some backbone. I found it unrealistic that she ended up paying for both her parents’ and siblings’ mistakes, just because she was the oldest. Heck, her brother easily out-earned her as a dentist.
Also a bit over the top was the mother’s narcissism and fixation with her own beauty. However, I could more easily buy this, having met women like this. And the way the mother manipulated her grown children was all-too-familiar.
I learned a lot from this novel, and am grateful to the author for writing it. She laid bare the miserable dynamics in a dysfunctional family with skill and deep understanding / empathy. Yes, there were a few repetitions here and there, and a few instances of “telling” rather than “showing”. However, I readily forgave the author for these because the underlying truths of the story resonated so perfectly for me. Highly recommended.
This book is the reality for so many families. What to do when our parents get old and need us to take care of them, but they were less than kind to us when we were kids. Diana Paul writes this story and pulls at my heart strings as I am in the very position that Jules is in. When a book strikes so close to home it’s difficult to put down. I highly recommend this book. It’s a complex and realistic look at the family dynamics so many of us face.
I listened to this as an audiobook and I really loved it. I found myself surprised and so happy to see the way Diana Paul deals with family relationships from the angle of the obligation an adult child has to her imperfect parents and siblings. This is such a real, meaningful topic, and she handles it very sensitively, with empathy and subtlety. I highly recommend this audio and I am sure I’d love to read the book, too.
Things Unsaid paints a riveting portrait of complex family dynamics, relatable struggles, and personal transformation. By weaving flawed characters into a well-crafted plot, Diana Paul draws the reader in from the very beginning.
This novel centers on Julia—Jules—Foster and her effort to navigate familial obligations. Between caring for a set of aging parents and dealing with a pair of unreliable siblings, she faces the impossible challenge of meeting everyone’s needs. On top of that, Jules must think about her daughter and attempt to reconcile her narcissistic mother’s demands with her own parental responsibilities.
Paul uses a series of perspective shifts to provide a better understanding of Jules and how the family views her. The relationships revealed throughout these pages are dysfunctional, intricate, and manipulative. In the end, Jules must figure out how to unpack age-old secrets and ultimately break the pattern of enabling her loved ones.
This compelling novel will capture your interest, tug on your heartstrings, and leave you reflecting on the powerful bonds within your own family. 5 stars.
Nothing is more entertaining than a dysfunctional family. And Things Unsaid delivers, with a story that exemplifies the fallout from unfit parents raising children when, perhaps they should have simply gotten a cat. Diana Y. Paul’s novel paints an in-depth character-study while also examining the hardship that follows neglected children after they enter adulthood, trying to fit into their new roles as parents and caregivers of aging parents.
Things Unsaid is a great read—and a truthful examination of family ties, and understanding when enough is enough.
Engaging from the first page, the author has written a layered story of family dynamics that is poignant and has depth. Highly recommend!
The famous quote about families is something like “all happy families are the same, but all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way.” I kept thinking about that as I read about the dysfunctional (modern definition of “unhappy”) family of Things Unsaid and I felt it was no longer true. In fact, there was much in Paul’s story that felt uncomfortably familiar (which may say too much about my own family) and in that, amazingly relatable. What family has not been, is or some day have to cope with the living arrangements (and spending habits) of their now-dependent aging parents? And, how does that topsy-turvy necessity shake up the fragile structure of the family dynamic, heretofore so carefully balanced to address previous inter-sibling and mom-dad issues. You’ll find your familial skin crawling in Paul’s situations and characterizations. This well-written and readable novel will long resonate and cause you to rethink what happens when things long repressed just have to, ultimately, be said.