I'm very pleased to announce that Missing Pieces launched on April 17th. I was much more nervous about the release of this book than with any of my others. I suppose it is because there is so much truth about my life within the pages of the beautiful cover, Elle Rossi of Tirgearr Publishing , designed. The two photographs she used are of my father--before and after the grenade blew. The novel tells the story of a daughter's journey with her crippled father-- from hate to understanding, forgiveness and ultimately love. My father, a carpenter by trade, lost most of his right hand when a grenade blew up in that hand. He sustained injuries so severe that he was kept in VA hospitals for years. The grenade uprooted trees and killed his best friend. And when he was finally released, he suffered from what we now call PTSD. He self-medicated with alcohol and was often angry and abusive to his children. We sometimes felt as if the bomb had exploded in our hands as well. Weeks before the release, I had nightmares in which reviewers labeled the work, "self indulgent drivel." I worried about how my family would react to my divulging all those well-kept "secrets."

​But that's not what happened. The reviews so far have been excellent, averaging 4.9 stars, and I couldn't be more pleased with the way readers are responding. I've received letters from other post WWII children who grew up with veterans damaged by the war--telling me that my story was their own. Hearing another human being's  life story has the ability to change us. Learning all the important things about my father's life certainly changed me.   What Reviewers Are Saying  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This is a review of Missing Pieces, the latest novel by Susan Clayton-Goldner. Before I dive into the review, I need to mention that I was provided a review copy of the book by the author and this is the eighth book of hers I have read and reviewed. 

I admit to liking all of her books that I have read so far and I am going to start by telling you right up front that this is her best work yet. In Dale Carnegie classes they tell you to talk about what you know and according to Susan Clayton-Goldner's synopsis of the book, this story is about her and her father and their relationship. I don't know the author personally so I cannot comment on what parts are fiction and what parts are true, but I can tell you that the characters came to life in front of me while I read and I could not put it down. On the beach in Hilton Head with sand blowing into our tent, on the plane to New York City, and while visiting with my daughter and two grand daughters, I was totally absorbed by the story. Not even when the not-quite-2-year-old was climbing over my back to get my attention, could I put it down! 

I know from my relationship with my father that I only knew parts of his story. Thank God my older brother interviewed him once about his family's emigration to the United States and the effort that it took to get here. He also recorded it so we now have his story in his words and when we need to we can listen to him tell it in his words.

Each of us has a family with a story. Some are more interesting than others. This book is about Susan Clayton-Goldner's. 

The book starts with the writer character receiving a call from her older brother telling her to come and visit her father as he has to have surgery and it is risky. He could die. She doesn't want to as her memories of her father are not pleasant. Her brother “guilts” her into it and she comes and spends time with him. As she doesn't have anything nice to say to him she asks him to tell her his story. When he does, old memories return. But these memories are not of the times that caused her to hate him. These memories are of more pleasant times. So she starts to wonder if she ever knew the man at all. The more stories he tells her, the more she needs and wants to hear!

I will warn you that this book will tug at your “heartstrings” and probably bring on a few tears. I know it did for me. It also reminded me that our time here is limited. Some will have more time than others. We need to make sure that we treat those we love with kindness while they are here as we don't know how long they will be with us or us with them. And those we don't love? Try walking a mile in their mocassins before you even think about judging them. When you do, maybe you will see the world from their point of view. 

The title Missing Pieces comes from the memories that were missing from the “puzzle” that was her father. As she found them, she put them together with those memories she had, and she ended up with a new version of the story of her life. It is that story that is slowly revealed to her and the reader as she listens to her father's story.

I loved the book and I think you will too. Read it; see if I am right. I bet I am!

​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Lilianna has been trying to put her father's abusive treatment behind her for almost twenty years. But when her brother asks her to come back and stay with him before surgery, she finds herself unable to say no. Soon she's finding a side to her father she never thought she'd see.

"Missing Pieces" is an engrossing story, in turns heartwarming and heart-wrenching, about family relationships and family legacies. It's a story of how drinking and abuse get passed down from generation to generation--but also a story of overcoming hardship and loss through love. Lilianna's father tells her his story of losing his mother and growing up during the Depression, and Lilianna realizes there are parts of him she never knew about, or that she suppressed in order to focus on her resentment of his abuse. She even recognizes her own behavior in him.

The two stories are deftly interwoven, and although this isn't a suspense story it keeps the reader's interest high by alternating Lilianna's story with her father's. Readers should be aware that child abuse is dealt with frankly, although not pruriently. Overall, "Missing Pieces" is a beautifully written family drama/women's fiction story in the vein of Jodi Picoult's work.

My thanks to the author for providing a review copy of this work. All opinions are my own. If you'd like to read this book, just click on the cover below: