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The Life you Leave Behind
All Faye Donehoe wanted was someone to love. At 18, she married her high school sweetheart and fulfilled the only goal she ever bothered to leaving her claustrophobic hometown in the sunset for the excitement of Washington, D.C. Five years later, she’s a war widow in love with her employer, Jimmy Quinn. Older and wealthy, he’s also very married to an aloof goddess with secrets of her own. Though Faye succeeds in capturing Jimmy’s attention, she finds happiness comes at a staggering price.
Throw in a nosy grandmother, an eccentric cousin, along with Jimmy’s skeletons and it’s no wonder Faye’s life is spinning out of control. After a lifetime of poor choices she faces her most difficult one living the “American Dream” or walking away from the life she always wanted.
Throw in a nosy grandmother, an eccentric cousin, along with Jimmy’s skeletons and it’s no wonder Faye’s life is spinning out of control. After a lifetime of poor choices she faces her most difficult one living the “American Dream” or walking away from the life she always wanted.
393 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 14, 2015
22 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 17, 2015
The Life You Leave Behind is told by the diary entries of 22 year old Faye Slater. Faye escapes her boring home town of Riverboro when she marries high school sweetheart, Phil, and moves to Washington DC. However life isn’t turning out as she hoped. Phil is killed on duty in Iraq and Faye must take a nanny job to CNN correspondent Helen Quinn’s tantrum throwing 9 year old to make ends meet. She immediately falls for the handsome Jimmy Quinn and an affair ensues. Will Jimmy leave his high profile wife for a life with Faye?
This is not a happy story, although it has many happy moments. It’s a real story about a family that becomes a blended family. It’s about coping with mental illness, adoption, step families and feelings of abandonment. The story is real! There will be times when you don’t like the characters and times when you think how lovely and accepting they are. Just like real life! Faye is young she gets what she wants any way she can. At times you will be astounded by what she does. But she is also loving and caring and these moments will astound you also. This story is not predicable you can never guess what will happen next. It’s a roller coaster ride of ups and downs that you will travel along with Faye, feeling the sheer thrill and horror of her life.
This is not a happy story, although it has many happy moments. It’s a real story about a family that becomes a blended family. It’s about coping with mental illness, adoption, step families and feelings of abandonment. The story is real! There will be times when you don’t like the characters and times when you think how lovely and accepting they are. Just like real life! Faye is young she gets what she wants any way she can. At times you will be astounded by what she does. But she is also loving and caring and these moments will astound you also. This story is not predicable you can never guess what will happen next. It’s a roller coaster ride of ups and downs that you will travel along with Faye, feeling the sheer thrill and horror of her life.
April 21, 2015
I received this book free by Library thing and bookkus publishing in exchange for an honest review.
Firstly I have to admit that sometimes I am a little hesitant to read books from authors i haven't heard of but this is one book I am really glad to have received.
Faye was a young war widow with humble beginnings in a small town. Abandoned by her mother, she's raised by her grandmother. She married young only to lose her husband after being married a short while.
A chance encounter dropped a nanny position in her lap. When she took the position to look after what must be the worst child ever, she had no idea where it would all lead. Duncan is a nightmare, his mother Helen, the ice queen, is a different kind of nightmare. And then there was Duncan's father Jimmy. Not much time had passed before she found herself enamoured by him. Raised as a good catholic girl she fought briefly with herself to do the right thing, but found herself unable to turn off her feelings.
While some parts of this book were difficult to read, the 50 shades of cruelty by several of the characters was saddening and mean, I found the story to be raw and real. Faye had spent her whole life looking for something, probably not even knowing what she wanted. I would imagine some people reading this book would be quick to judge Faye and her behaviour, but life isn't black and white. I don't think a lot of people intentionally set out to have affairs, people aren't perfect and Faye loved Jimmy, sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. Soon she had the perfect marriage, beautiful clothes, the lovely house and car, the perfect child, until the bomb drops. Faye, without realization or intention becomes Helen and in some ways, like Jimmy. And she's still searching for that something. When tragedy strikes, Faye realized what was important and where she belonged. But not without scars.
The story is told from Faye's narrative except for the epilogue, this is really Faye's story but also the story of so many other people. There are many prominent people in Faye's life, all contributing to who she is and becomes. There is a lot of tragedy and angst. This isn't a happy book, there aren't laugh out loud moments but so emotional when you become invested in the story of all of them, I admit I had a tear or two more than once.
Thank you Library thing for allowing me the chance to read this fantastic book. I wish there were half stars here, it's a solid 4 1/2.
Firstly I have to admit that sometimes I am a little hesitant to read books from authors i haven't heard of but this is one book I am really glad to have received.
Faye was a young war widow with humble beginnings in a small town. Abandoned by her mother, she's raised by her grandmother. She married young only to lose her husband after being married a short while.
A chance encounter dropped a nanny position in her lap. When she took the position to look after what must be the worst child ever, she had no idea where it would all lead. Duncan is a nightmare, his mother Helen, the ice queen, is a different kind of nightmare. And then there was Duncan's father Jimmy. Not much time had passed before she found herself enamoured by him. Raised as a good catholic girl she fought briefly with herself to do the right thing, but found herself unable to turn off her feelings.
While some parts of this book were difficult to read, the 50 shades of cruelty by several of the characters was saddening and mean, I found the story to be raw and real. Faye had spent her whole life looking for something, probably not even knowing what she wanted. I would imagine some people reading this book would be quick to judge Faye and her behaviour, but life isn't black and white. I don't think a lot of people intentionally set out to have affairs, people aren't perfect and Faye loved Jimmy, sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. Soon she had the perfect marriage, beautiful clothes, the lovely house and car, the perfect child, until the bomb drops. Faye, without realization or intention becomes Helen and in some ways, like Jimmy. And she's still searching for that something. When tragedy strikes, Faye realized what was important and where she belonged. But not without scars.
The story is told from Faye's narrative except for the epilogue, this is really Faye's story but also the story of so many other people. There are many prominent people in Faye's life, all contributing to who she is and becomes. There is a lot of tragedy and angst. This isn't a happy book, there aren't laugh out loud moments but so emotional when you become invested in the story of all of them, I admit I had a tear or two more than once.
Thank you Library thing for allowing me the chance to read this fantastic book. I wish there were half stars here, it's a solid 4 1/2.
April 25, 2015
The Life you Leave Behind (ebook) by Coedee Shaner Burba is a very deep and powerful read. It took me through several layers of feelings and emotions. I expected to feel one way as I started it and the book ended very differently than I imagined that it would. This book is not formulaic, it is unexpected and it pulled at my emotions.
I won't give you a book report. You can read that on the author's site, she knows what she wrote better than anyone. I will tell you why I gave this story five stars. I normally love a bubble gum boy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after...this wasn't their tale and yet, the bittersweet (those chocolates that I leave behind ) made me enjoy it and want it. I felt apart of this, I felt I believed in Faye, even when she let me down. I routed for Jimmy even when he was not the upstanding guy. Is Helen a monster? You have to decide?
I would not have chosen the decisions that these characters did. I did enjoy seeing the consequences and how it worked out for them. I would be interested in hearing others feelings. Good book.
Merged review:
Makes you look deeply at choices, questions who Faye's soul mate is
This book was an unexpected treat. It had deeper layers than usual romance novels. I suppose a young widow is different than your usual heroine so you better be prepared to have your tissue, and hold on for the ride Faye's life. I watched her truly grow as a woman. I believe she learned what it meant to decide what happiness what worth.
I won't give you a book report. You can read that on the author's site, she knows what she wrote better than anyone. I will tell you why I gave this story five stars. I normally love a bubble gum boy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after...this wasn't their tale and yet, the bittersweet (those chocolates that I leave behind ) made me enjoy it and want it. I felt apart of this, I felt I believed in Faye, even when she let me down. I routed for Jimmy even when he was not the upstanding guy. Is Helen a monster? You have to decide?
I would not have chosen the decisions that these characters did. I did enjoy seeing the consequences and how it worked out for them. I would be interested in hearing others feelings. Good book.
Merged review:
Makes you look deeply at choices, questions who Faye's soul mate is
This book was an unexpected treat. It had deeper layers than usual romance novels. I suppose a young widow is different than your usual heroine so you better be prepared to have your tissue, and hold on for the ride Faye's life. I watched her truly grow as a woman. I believe she learned what it meant to decide what happiness what worth.
April 14, 2015
I picked up this book and was not quite sure what to expect. Let me say that I love the writing style and the flow of this book. Helped me to keep track of everything going on! This story feels very real. The emotional ride was extremely intense and a bit close to home.
This is a wonderful story of growing up and what we think we want or need but we really don’t know. It shows the true struggle of real life and the real challenges of becoming a grown-up. Very well written. If you read books that take you away, this book is not for you. This is a story that gets down to what real life can be like and why I have told my children and all young adults I know to not get married before you are 25. Life is to be lived and it’s not as easy as it looks to get through the tough times but Faye figures it out.
This is a wonderful story of growing up and what we think we want or need but we really don’t know. It shows the true struggle of real life and the real challenges of becoming a grown-up. Very well written. If you read books that take you away, this book is not for you. This is a story that gets down to what real life can be like and why I have told my children and all young adults I know to not get married before you are 25. Life is to be lived and it’s not as easy as it looks to get through the tough times but Faye figures it out.
March 20, 2015
One of my favorite romance novels of all time!
I am the Publisher
-Publisher Review
I am the Publisher
-Publisher Review
April 4, 2015
Disclaimer: I picked up this book through Bookkus.com free for review. I just learned about Bookkus and am still finding my way around, but there seems to be quite a few authors willing to let their books go out there for review.
Given the above, I read bearing the imminent review in mind. I found this a very hard book to read. There is a lot of angst. The main character spends her time mooning over a married man while whipping herself with her Catholic guilt, she seems to sing "I'm just a girl who can't say no..." As a reader, it is plain that she is walking into trouble. Even so, we are brought along on this angsty ride. I read to escape depression. This book drew me into darkness. As often as I thought, I should just move on to another book, I kept reading. It was like the train-wreck you can't keep your eyes off of. There were redeeming qualities to the main character that kept me reading. I wasn't sure how it would end. It didn't seem like there could be a good ending. Yet I stayed with it.
Now that I am finished reading the book, and trying not to give away spoilers, I can say I was taught something. Maybe that was something the author was trying to teach through this story? I was shown my own judgemental feeling toward Faye. And I learned her strength of character she learned along the way through making her own mistakes of love. If you can deal with the angst of a YA romance there might be something here for you, too. Thank you for letting me read your book, Coedee Shaner Burba.
Given the above, I read bearing the imminent review in mind. I found this a very hard book to read. There is a lot of angst. The main character spends her time mooning over a married man while whipping herself with her Catholic guilt, she seems to sing "I'm just a girl who can't say no..." As a reader, it is plain that she is walking into trouble. Even so, we are brought along on this angsty ride. I read to escape depression. This book drew me into darkness. As often as I thought, I should just move on to another book, I kept reading. It was like the train-wreck you can't keep your eyes off of. There were redeeming qualities to the main character that kept me reading. I wasn't sure how it would end. It didn't seem like there could be a good ending. Yet I stayed with it.
Now that I am finished reading the book, and trying not to give away spoilers, I can say I was taught something. Maybe that was something the author was trying to teach through this story? I was shown my own judgemental feeling toward Faye. And I learned her strength of character she learned along the way through making her own mistakes of love. If you can deal with the angst of a YA romance there might be something here for you, too. Thank you for letting me read your book, Coedee Shaner Burba.
May 2, 2015
The Life You Leave Behind
by Coedee Shaner Burba
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am so pleased to have read and reviewed this book.
This novel is inciteful and brings a young girl from her teens in high school to her own daughter's sixteenth birthday.
This story is complex and filled with emotion. It contains a long list of emotions we can all relate to in some way. Feeling sand relationships that are polar to one another. Faith and Family that swings from self worth to of feeling total inadequacy. Feelings of love and hate, trust and distrust, loyalty and cheating, truth and deciet are among some of them.
This story also brings awareness to us. It shows us how each and every choice we make not only affects ourselves but others including family, friends and even strangers. It shows struggle to forgive and forget, repair relationships and continue through love and loss.
This author has written a novel that follows a young woman Claire from her teens into a marriage, becoming a war widow, two affairs and a second marriage.. It ends showing how all those decisions she made are having an affect on her own teenage daughter.
This is the first novel I have found by this author. I am looking to read more. It is very well written, her characters are realistic and their conduct is befitting the story, time and era.
I consider it a must read.
by Coedee Shaner Burba
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am so pleased to have read and reviewed this book.
This novel is inciteful and brings a young girl from her teens in high school to her own daughter's sixteenth birthday.
This story is complex and filled with emotion. It contains a long list of emotions we can all relate to in some way. Feeling sand relationships that are polar to one another. Faith and Family that swings from self worth to of feeling total inadequacy. Feelings of love and hate, trust and distrust, loyalty and cheating, truth and deciet are among some of them.
This story also brings awareness to us. It shows us how each and every choice we make not only affects ourselves but others including family, friends and even strangers. It shows struggle to forgive and forget, repair relationships and continue through love and loss.
This author has written a novel that follows a young woman Claire from her teens into a marriage, becoming a war widow, two affairs and a second marriage.. It ends showing how all those decisions she made are having an affect on her own teenage daughter.
This is the first novel I have found by this author. I am looking to read more. It is very well written, her characters are realistic and their conduct is befitting the story, time and era.
I consider it a must read.
May 12, 2015
I received this book through Bookkus Publishing for an honest review.
Now that that has been said, I do have to say that this book was a very pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it at first from the synopsis. The book had a nice flow, good blending, believable characters, etc. I mean who of us has never wanted to run away from our lives at one point or another? This definitely shows a new perspective on the fight or flight instinct. When times are tough do you run away or do you take a stand and fight for what you really want. What is someone's actually breaking point before they turn tail and run? What has to happen to make someone realize that they want to take a stand and fight for what they have always wanted? How do you know if love is enough, especially if you don't like the person at the time? This book gives an insight into all of that along with a take on several different types of love.
There is still something holding me back from giving this a 5 star rating, can't quite put my finger on it though. But, overall it was a very good, nice flowing read. Would definitely give it a 4.5 star.
Now that that has been said, I do have to say that this book was a very pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it at first from the synopsis. The book had a nice flow, good blending, believable characters, etc. I mean who of us has never wanted to run away from our lives at one point or another? This definitely shows a new perspective on the fight or flight instinct. When times are tough do you run away or do you take a stand and fight for what you really want. What is someone's actually breaking point before they turn tail and run? What has to happen to make someone realize that they want to take a stand and fight for what they have always wanted? How do you know if love is enough, especially if you don't like the person at the time? This book gives an insight into all of that along with a take on several different types of love.
There is still something holding me back from giving this a 5 star rating, can't quite put my finger on it though. But, overall it was a very good, nice flowing read. Would definitely give it a 4.5 star.
February 17, 2015
As someone who grew up in the South and who once lived in D.C., “The Life You Leave Behind” rang true for me on many levels.
The characters are richly drawn and the dialogue spot on. The book’s voice and rhythm flows easily.
This book is much more than a romance. It’s a story of love, family and relationships (My favorite kind of book). It’s about the voices in our heart and the voices in our head.
Thomas Wolfe said, “You can’t go home again”, but can you ever really leave it behind? It colors our perceptions and decisions … it shapes us.
When all is said and done Faye is looking for love. She may make some questionable choices, but it’s a journey for all of us, isn’t it? I really enjoyed following Faye on hers and highly recommend you do as well.
The characters are richly drawn and the dialogue spot on. The book’s voice and rhythm flows easily.
This book is much more than a romance. It’s a story of love, family and relationships (My favorite kind of book). It’s about the voices in our heart and the voices in our head.
Thomas Wolfe said, “You can’t go home again”, but can you ever really leave it behind? It colors our perceptions and decisions … it shapes us.
When all is said and done Faye is looking for love. She may make some questionable choices, but it’s a journey for all of us, isn’t it? I really enjoyed following Faye on hers and highly recommend you do as well.
April 8, 2015
The Life you leave behind by Burba is definitely chick lit and I was reluctant to continue. As I was reading it for a Bookkus review I persevered and was able to get into the characters. It is YA romance and full of memories, like this quote about Faye's grandfather: "This larger than life figure I turned to if I needed a hug or bad joke to fix my day, has faded into a pleasant memory I pull from my mind to brighten an overcast day" (p.295) Faye, the main protagonist, is full of Catholic angst which doesn't stop her from having an extra marital affair. There are pleasant memories from this marriage and unpleasant ones, mainly revolving around an adopted son. So plenty of conflict and steamy scenes.
April 21, 2015
I received an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a book about broken marriages, a nanny who can’t say no, a very troubled adopted child, and adultery. The author does an excellent job of portraying how a very troubled child can negatively affect a relationship. The main character’s life seems to be one train wreck after another until a tragic accident pulls her up short and she has to decide whether she really wants to walk away from the life she always wanted. The author portrays real life struggles with conflicts, broken relationships, mistakes and amends, and living with the results. CoeDee Burba does an excellent job of developing each of the characters and I look forward to reading more from this author.
October 12, 2017
Emotional read
I enjoyed this book , I got very emotional the last few chapters as the story was coming to an end , the love and heartache touched me ! I highly recommend this book !
I enjoyed this book , I got very emotional the last few chapters as the story was coming to an end , the love and heartache touched me ! I highly recommend this book !
June 18, 2015
The Life You Leave Behind follows the life of Faye thru her diary entrees. She makes mistakes and experiences major life events, some I could relate to but others not so much. I enjoyed how the story was put together and how it moved along at the right pace. I went back and forth with loving Faye and really disliking her along with Jimmy. It's very much like real life which I enjoyed. Everything that happened was very believable. I would definitely recommend this book if you want a more serious read that will make you think. I would like to read more from this author as well.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
August 14, 2016
This was the best book I have read all year. It is written in sort of a journal through Faye. After high school, Faye had married a man who was in the Army and killed overseas. As she is trying to get on with her life, she accepts a job as a nanny/housekeeper for an extremely rich family with one disturbed son. Of course she falls in love with the husband and her life runs amok from there. There are so many deep situations it's hard to put the book down. Faye has everything she wants until she meets Jack. The story again goes another direction. I wasn't sure who to cheer for at this point. Without spoiling anything for you, get the book and enjoy!!
January 1, 2016
I had a hard time getting into this book, though the epilogue left me in tears. The first third of the book felt like a cliché: nanny has an affair with the husband.
Although Faye ultimately gets what she wants, she learns that what she wants might not be all it's cracked up to be.
This book is about love and loss, hope and strength. At times it dragged, but I'm glad I stuck through it. The epilogue is told from Faye's teenage daughter's perspective, and though it was a bit long, I think it ended the book on just the right note.
Although Faye ultimately gets what she wants, she learns that what she wants might not be all it's cracked up to be.
This book is about love and loss, hope and strength. At times it dragged, but I'm glad I stuck through it. The epilogue is told from Faye's teenage daughter's perspective, and though it was a bit long, I think it ended the book on just the right note.
June 29, 2015
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. While I didn't dislike the book I wasn't super doper thrilled but it was a decent dark read. It makes you think what you would do in a situation as you are walked through the good and bad choices of the main character. A deep thought provoking book that takes you down the rabbit hole and into her life as she reflects on how she got to where she lands. It is a story that can you will want to put down but wont be able to.
June 23, 2015
Great story
A believable story, unless you have a perfect life. Tragedy strikes most our lives and this story brought you in to the emotions of love, fear, happiness and sadness. It dragged in a few places, but I didn't leaf through pages. We were never promised a rose garden, the ending was the the only ending - for all reasons. Good job author.
A believable story, unless you have a perfect life. Tragedy strikes most our lives and this story brought you in to the emotions of love, fear, happiness and sadness. It dragged in a few places, but I didn't leaf through pages. We were never promised a rose garden, the ending was the the only ending - for all reasons. Good job author.
July 22, 2016
Not sure how I'm going to do with this book. It's fulfilling the "book with a protagonist that has your occupation" category on the Pop Sugar 2016 challenge. However, it's about a widow with absolutely no experience with children who takes a job as a nanny and then falls in love with her boss. I'm thinking it's going to be a chore to get through without throwing my iPad through a wall.
December 9, 2015
The Life You Leave Behind is a romance novel and I rarely read them. This book is exceptionally good and the characters are well developed.
I found the 'consequences' in this story to be interesting and as with consequences, not everyone gets what they want.
I found the 'consequences' in this story to be interesting and as with consequences, not everyone gets what they want.
December 11, 2015
Love and Marriage
Rarely do I read romance novels. "The Life You Leave Behind" by CoeDee Shaner Burba may very well have changed my opinion of the so-called "Romance Novel". I could hardly put this book down!!!! EXCELLENT READ!!
Rarely do I read romance novels. "The Life You Leave Behind" by CoeDee Shaner Burba may very well have changed my opinion of the so-called "Romance Novel". I could hardly put this book down!!!! EXCELLENT READ!!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews