In this mesmerizing drama, one life-altering event catapults a family into turmoil, revealing secrets that may leave them fractured forever . . . or bind them together tighter than ever before.From the outside, the Davenports look like any other family living a completely ordinary life—until that devastating day when five-year-old Jonah is killed, and the family is torn apart. As the fury of … the fury of guilt engulfs them, the Davenports slowly start to unravel, one by one.
Losing her son forces Rachel to withdraw into a frayed, fuzzy reality. Her husband, Sam, tries to remain stoic, but he’s consumed by regret with the choices he’s made. Eden mourns her brother, while desperately fighting to regain a sense of normalcy. And Aunt Ruth, Rachel’s sister, works too hard to care for the family, even as her own personal issues haunt her.
Told from multiple points of view—including Jonah’s—the family struggles to cope with unthinkable loss. But as they face their own dark secrets about that terrible day, they have a choice: to be swallowed up in sadness forever, or begin the raw, arduous ascent back to living.
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This novel really holds you spellbound. It is a page-turner told from a number of different narratives. Although first person voices can sometimes be monotonous, because this was from so many different viewpoints it was crisp and exciting right through to the last page. If you enjoy novels that enable you to feel the emotions of each character, I would highly recommend What Remains True.
WHAT REMAINS TRUE: A NOVEL by Janis Thomas is an incredibly well-told story of inconsolable grief. The aspect that mesmerized me is that it’s told in the first person by each of the characters—including the family dog. My hat is off to Thomas who pulls off this amazing feat without a hitch! I highly recommend this book.
What an amazing book! Absolutely loved it and am going to recommend to everyone I can. My only regret was starting on the first day of my workweek; I forgot what a bed time was and I couldn’t stop thinking about the story at work.
I found this a hard book to relate to at first. I didn’t like how each chapter switcher over to another POV. I also found the writing style a bit bland to be honest, but I stuck out the whole book to see how things would get resolved. And there was a light at the end of the tunnel…
This is a story I haven’t read before; it is entirely original. It is an emotional read because it is about a young child’s death, but it is handled beautifully and with such sensitivity it is as uplifting as it is sad. A wonderful read!
A heart-wrenching and heart-warming story about the power of love, even through tragedy
Told from all points of view of a family torn apart by a tragic event, Janis Thomas explores both the joys and the hardships of love.
Be it a child’s simple pleasure in day-to-day disoveries, a pre-teen’s voyage into friendship and romance, or the tribulations of a thirteen year marriage, Thomas skillfully unspools her story’s thread with a measured pace, careful to not give the reader more than they’re prepared to handle.
Not only did I cry along with the family members as they dealt with their own guilt, I cheered for them as they learned to move on and love again.
I enjoyed the style of the book, each chapter is told from a different characters point of view. Parts seemed a bit cliche, but it kept me interested until the end. Made me question how I would handle grief?
I loved this book! Although it deals with the death of a 5 year old, it’s not a sad story. But rather, its uplifting and thought provoking. I loved how the reader gets to read the viewpoints of the mom, dad, 10 yr. old sister, aunt and even the family dog. So I enjoyed the format as we learned the good traits and flaws of each member of the family.
At first, I didn’t like it. Too dark. But as the book went on, I found out why. Many points of view, told in many voices. If you have ever grieved a loss, you will identify with this family.
A tragic story, told from each family members perspective, including the dog! Loved that, as a person that considers her pets and my children’s pets, family members, as well! Any of us who have dealt with loss, will empathize and take something good away from this book. This book, made me sad, but also I felt comforted in how it concluded.