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This Much Is True
Not yet published
Expected 18 Sep 26A mother faces an impossible dilemma as her daughter’s future hangs in the balance
On her fifty-eighth birthday, Veronica Harmon feels blessed—with a fulfilling veterinary career, a wonderful marriage and three grown children, her youngest newly engaged and celebrating her first solo art show that very night. But when Veronica meets her daughter’s future in-laws, Ted and Belinda, who’ve flown across the country for the show, she is shocked to recognize Ted from an incident during high school that changed the trajectory of her life. Having never told a soul about that night, Veronica’s past reemerges like a live grenade.
Over the course of a pre-arranged weekend at the Harmon’s home intended to better acquaint the two families, Veronica unearths troubling memories, questions her own recollections and grapples with the impossible. If she quietly welcomes this man as a permanent part of her family she will be forced to live with a devastating lie, but if she reveals their shared history, she will expose her private shame and destroy her daughter’s future. Just when she thinks there is no viable solution, she has an epiphany that flips the script on what it means to be a survivor and the choices that are hers to make.
On her fifty-eighth birthday, Veronica Harmon feels blessed—with a fulfilling veterinary career, a wonderful marriage and three grown children, her youngest newly engaged and celebrating her first solo art show that very night. But when Veronica meets her daughter’s future in-laws, Ted and Belinda, who’ve flown across the country for the show, she is shocked to recognize Ted from an incident during high school that changed the trajectory of her life. Having never told a soul about that night, Veronica’s past reemerges like a live grenade.
Over the course of a pre-arranged weekend at the Harmon’s home intended to better acquaint the two families, Veronica unearths troubling memories, questions her own recollections and grapples with the impossible. If she quietly welcomes this man as a permanent part of her family she will be forced to live with a devastating lie, but if she reveals their shared history, she will expose her private shame and destroy her daughter’s future. Just when she thinks there is no viable solution, she has an epiphany that flips the script on what it means to be a survivor and the choices that are hers to make.
- GenresFiction
278 pages, Paperback
Expected publication September 18, 2026
About the author
Katherine A. Sherbrooke
9 books111 followersKatherine Sherbrooke is the award-winning author of Leaving Coy's Hill , a New York Times notable book which was short-listed for the MA Book Awards, Fill the Sky, a finalist for the Mary Sarton Award and the winner of an Indies book of the year award, The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly, and a family memoir, Finding Home (2011). Her fourth novel, This Much is True, is forthcoming in September 2026. An alumna of Dartmouth College and Stanford Business School, she wanted to be an author from the time she opened her first book, and lived on books like food and water for a long time. Somewhere along the line, though, she caught the start-up bug and co-founded a Boston based company called Circles. After that wonderful 15 year+ entrepreneurial adventure, she "remembered" her original dream and finally sat down to write. She lives outside Boston with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ARC review (copy provided by NetGalley):
I genuinely don’t even know how to put my feelings about this book into words. This Much Is True is a story that primarily deals with SA, trauma, and the aftermath of surviving something so deeply painful. It explores what it means to carry something like that as a secret for years and then to unexpectedly have the past come back into your life. Because of that, this is definitely not an easy book to read. There were so many moments that genuinely hurt, and by the last few chapters, I was an absolute mess. I was crying so much. And yet, I couldn’t put it down.
The writing is so incredibly fluid and immersive. The story just pulls you in and you constantly find yourself wanting to know what happens next. I had so many theories throughout the book about where the story was going and how everything would eventually end. I had my own idea of what the ending would look like but the actual ending completely caught me off guard (in the best possible way). It was so much more beautiful and meaningful than I expected. I honestly loved how everything came together and I think the ending made the entire story even more impactful.
What stayed with me the most was the way the author managed to communicate such heavy emotions in a way that felt incredibly natural, and that made the story hit so much harder.
I also feel like I happened to read this book at exactly the right time. Sometimes you come across a story that somehow finds you when you’re ready for it and I really feel like this was one of those books for me. I’m genuinely grateful that I picked it up.
Thank you to the author for writing something so beautiful, heartbreaking, and deeply human. 🫂❤️🩹
Definitely a 5⭐️ read and honestly one of my favorite reads of the year. I went into this book not really knowing what to expect and I ended up being so incredibly surprised by how deeply it affected me. I already know this is going to be one of those books I keep thinking about long after finishing it.
I genuinely don’t even know how to put my feelings about this book into words. This Much Is True is a story that primarily deals with SA, trauma, and the aftermath of surviving something so deeply painful. It explores what it means to carry something like that as a secret for years and then to unexpectedly have the past come back into your life. Because of that, this is definitely not an easy book to read. There were so many moments that genuinely hurt, and by the last few chapters, I was an absolute mess. I was crying so much. And yet, I couldn’t put it down.
The writing is so incredibly fluid and immersive. The story just pulls you in and you constantly find yourself wanting to know what happens next. I had so many theories throughout the book about where the story was going and how everything would eventually end. I had my own idea of what the ending would look like but the actual ending completely caught me off guard (in the best possible way). It was so much more beautiful and meaningful than I expected. I honestly loved how everything came together and I think the ending made the entire story even more impactful.
What stayed with me the most was the way the author managed to communicate such heavy emotions in a way that felt incredibly natural, and that made the story hit so much harder.
I also feel like I happened to read this book at exactly the right time. Sometimes you come across a story that somehow finds you when you’re ready for it and I really feel like this was one of those books for me. I’m genuinely grateful that I picked it up.
Thank you to the author for writing something so beautiful, heartbreaking, and deeply human. 🫂❤️🩹
Definitely a 5⭐️ read and honestly one of my favorite reads of the year. I went into this book not really knowing what to expect and I ended up being so incredibly surprised by how deeply it affected me. I already know this is going to be one of those books I keep thinking about long after finishing it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
THIS IS AN ADVANCED READING COPY BY NETGALLEY:
This Much Is True, is the first book I’ve had the pleasure of reading by Katherine A. Sherbrooke. It’s no secret this author knows how to get inside the hard truths of life, to create structured, complex and dynamic characters who share interpersonal relationships that can either ensure their bond remains close and secure or destroy their trust, their sense of autonomy and forever scar their futures.
When Mara, introduces her parents Veronica and David to her soon to be in laws, Belinda and Ted at her art gallery show that Belinda had helped her by introducing her to the gallery’s owner, her mother Veronica is shocked back to the worse time of her life as the man who was her high school boyfriend, whom she’d loved and believed she’d ruined their relationship with poor decisions from too much alcohol and waking in the morning with a kid two years her junior reminded by snippets of the assault he’d forced upon her and she was ostracized at school and eventually ran all the way to California to find refuge in her eldest brothers company. Because of that moment, she has been irrevocably broken and changed and never finished high school making college a lost dream of hers.
When she apologized to Jack at the gallery for ending things the way she had, she asked how he was there. He gave her the worst most horrific response she’d couldn’t ever be prepared for. Ted, was her predator. The young unknown kid in the back of that car who’d raped her and then gladly ruined her reputation by making it known that she’d been the one to put them together that night and had intentionally done so to hurt Jack. Ted was going to be her daughter’s father in law. His wife Belinda worked tirelessly on college campuses to bring sexual assaults to the forefront and to make others aware that they had the power to intervene to protect and to stop what they believed was a predatory act in taking advantage of a women under the influence and who was not in control of her faculties at the time of being led into something she wasn’t giving consent to. She had started a non profit called IT’S ON US or IOU for short. When Belinda and Ted spend the weekend at Veronica’s and Davis’ house as they’d planned many months before, Veronica can barely hold herself together. She’d never told her husband, or anyone what had happened she just moved as far away as could and did her best to move on. She believed he would see her as damaged goods or worse, not believe her and she couldn’t handle that anymore than what she has already suffered with.
When she finds out her daughter and her soon to be son in law have been given jobs out in California, her daughter at the artists retreat with free lodging and to head the community of artists there and her son in law was offered a job from Jack, to use his tech resources and his own personal tech invention to help make the company more profitable and Nix, her soon to be son in law, likely extremely successful in the tech world and financially as well.
After nearly a weekend of reliving and feeling the pain and distress of her nearly impossible situation she had finally come to a decision that would take her name and her assault out of the equation but still ensure that Ted would admit what he’d done 40 years earlier and how in his actions he and Jack had teamed together to not only exploit one woman but two and it was the very premise of their lucrative businesses and the link that kept them firmly together in nearly all their business ventures. Veronica couldn’t have her daughter despising her for telling her truth now, being responsible for whatever the aftermath may be for her and Nix or their family. She had a genuine respect and admiration for Belinda but couldn’t allow Ted to be awarded for his work in preventing, making awareness for and preventing assault in females when she knew who he was. Regardless, it was 40 years ago, that one assault led to a lucrative financial merger between himself and Jack and she was the culprit that would face the consequences and the lifelong pain and suffering that went along with assault.
She spoke to him the previous night before they left and again that morning. She had laid out her plan and was certain she would not be the reason for the fallout of his actions ever again. He would admit his actions from 40years prior and the deal that he and Jack had made that connected them and made them wealthier beyond belief with one blatant disregard of a woman and an assault in its most extreme form.
Months later. Mara, Nix, Wyatt and Belinda would be at the awards ceremony in which IOU was being recognized for its work and charity fundraising it had tirelessly devoted to women who were assaulted and raped bu their abuser and the healing process they provided for these women as well as the awareness and the knowledge they regularly provided and continued to speak on throughout country campuses and beyond. Belinda received the award alone, even though these awards have always been given and awarded to a couple. She didn’t make an excuse for where Ted was she only reiterated the importance of holding accountable family loved ones and friends who’ve assaulted women and that protecting them was encouraging them to continue forcing harm and lifelong devastation to the victims. She spoke how important it was to hold these assailants accountable and to confront their crimes and report their actions to do the right thing and protect the victim and not their loved one or family member who has grossly violated and violently assaulted a woman that could’ve been their sister their mother or wife. As a society, it is time we all speak up, whether it’s our child, brother, husband or friend, they need to be held accountable and responsible for their actions that will irreparably impact their victim for the rest of their lives and we need to do this so that victims feel safe coming forward and feel secure in the knowledge they’ll be believed and their predators will be punished.
Veronica will end up telling Davis, Mara also admits to her mother that she too had been a victim of assault and Veronica feels both guilty for never having told her daughter for if she had, she might have come to her and is relieved and proud of Mara for being the one to break the cycle of silence and holding onto an assault alone and living with it solely for an entire lifetime allowing it to irrecoverably affect her every decision and her way of reasoning and decision making that is generally based off of the fear and shame of the assume that was never her responsibility to take on and own. It was her predators and the others who had known about the situation and had remained silent as well as went on to become financially wealthy due to their forged bond from that time.
This book was based on an acute need for the truth regarding assault, the environment and the general attitude and awareness to be irrevocably changed in such an extreme and respectful manner. The typical he said she said testimony before public opinion isn’t only damaging for the victims reputation but it’s also traumatically harmful forcing the victim to relive the tragedy in front of her aggressor and rapist, in a room predominantly filled with men and to have lawyers who will use their well versed skills in legalese to confuse, humiliate and intimidate the victim which causes the victim to seem unable to remember the series of events as they happened and to succeed in telling her story in a way that would have a positive influence on the jury and judge. It’s a flawed system and process that works against the victims and works solely for the predator who is likely to walk away free to assault another victim and continue to do so without any repercussions or consequences because he’s confident that the system in place is not working for the victims but for the defendant and those like him.
The fear and the humiliation and shame needs to be entirely removed from the elements that make up the questions and the investigation into assaults. The clothing, the behavior and the manner prior to the assault is irrelevant and holds no value in the context that she was in fact assaulted and wasn’t a willing participant to the sexual assault she withstood and endured. To mention her past, her dress style, her sexual nature and how often she is sexually active has no bearing on the fact that her assault is not the same as her choice to have sex and willingly commit to the sexual activities she previous has had. This is the main flaw in these circumstances and why there’s more women who refuse to report her sexual assaults than there are the women who do, This is such an important and powerful issue to have based her book on and to show that it is so common it isn’t uncommon for both a mother and her daughter to be assaulted in a lifetime and it’s 1 out 4 women that are regularly being assaulted and choosing NOT to report it or press charges because they are well aware of the odds against them being on their side and they’re protecting their reputation and their family’s heartbreak and suffering as well as their own.
I was so immersed in the emotions and the pain that Veronica was still dealing with acutely and her trauma was as devastating nearly 4 decades later as it had been when it had happened. This was a distinct and incredibly brilliant way to portray the lifelong struggle and suffering and the loneliness that survivors experience for their entire lives. The stripped identity and autonomy from these women is such a wound that isn’t going to heal or be replaced by life’s blessings or the positive aspects she’ll hopefulllt go on to experience. That void and that loss will always be there and because she has chosen to handle it alone, it makes it all the more difficult to get through to a side of forgiveness for herself and recognition that it wasn’t her fault and she didn’t deserve that to happen no matter what the truths were leading up to the assault. A violation and action that takes from someone without permission or participation is a crime and is not the fault of the victim whose rights have been stolen and disrespected and desecrated. This is the fault of the predator, the immoral, soulless and heartless violator who is not ever acting in reasonable circumstances or realistic humanity or even responds to human decency or dignity. She who doesn’t seek help from a professional, a loved one or someone she trusts, carries this heavy burden and weight on her shoulders all her life and it’s exhausting it takes over nearly all her life experience that shouldn’t be shadowed by the heaviness and the reminder of the traumatic experience she was forced to endure and now she alone carrries its excruciating agonizing pain. This is the kind of life that must be healed and helped by professionals and loved ones who can help work the carrying of the burden and release the weight these women so innocent and vulnerable yet have believed the shame and suffering is deserved for one reason or the other. It’s imperative the sexual assault and abuse of women is seen as an violation, an abomination and not a reaction to the previous behavior or dress or inhibitions that substances cause. The men who use these examples as justification and the system that allows them to needs to be radically changed and altered so that the perpetrators are the ones who are investigated questioned blamed and punished instantaneously. There shouldn’t ever be any question about the assault when it’s obvious that it’s happened. Women aren’t out there filing false allegations and trying to get innocent men imprisoned. It’s the men who are violating women and assaulting women that are guilty but have been taught by a biased system to be excused for their actions if the female is promiscuous or dresses sexy or has. A past in sec work. It doesn’t matter what the past or present of her life is. What matters is the assault happened against her will and she wasn’t a participant but a victim and was brutally assaulted and raped, a violation that is so deeply embedded and painfully personal and private that almost always results in shame and embarrassment and perpetual suffering and pain in ways that can never truly be expressed. The odds of a fake allegation are far far more unlikely than the reality of the assault and violation that’s been reported and committed and yet it is still in our systems to place doubt blame and shame women for their actions that have nothing to do with the actual assault and rape. The fact is, we all have the right to behave as we choose and act as we please and not one of those things are deserving or justify rape assault and violation of someone in the most intimate and sensitive manner possible.
I admire the author for choosing such a broken and prevalent issue that is so deeply rooted in the society that we live in and the horrible consequences that females face regularly when they’ve been victimized and don’t report because the statistics don’t lie and the overall general consensus is so backwards by choosing to blame and shame the victims and protect the perpetrators of violating a female in the most intimate and personal manner possible. These men become serial predators and these females are forever altered by the assault and never fully become the women they’d have ordinarily been had it not been so hard for her to prove a crime against her body and the assault that was unwarranted and unjustified yet was broken down in a court of law as her own fault and portrayed her as a women of questionable morals and conduct therefore the general public gregariously accept she was asking for it. This preconceived notion and view needs to be challenged and addressed and rectified. The punishments against rapists and assault predators needs to be harsher and tougher and their defense attorneys shouldn’t be allowed to shame or blame the female for her rape and violent assault due to any of her previous or current lifestyle or behavior. No one asks to be raped simply by having sexual relations with numerous men. There’s a distinct and significant difference between consenting and violating. That’s the focus that needs to be addressed in the investigation process and it’s not one that should be turned against the victim but rather towards the perpetrators. Period.
Incredible book that will have you thinking and remembering the story and how brutally the impact of her assault was all those decades later and how much worse it is knowing there were no consequences or repercussions for the men who robbed her of the life she’d previously been working towards.
Thank you so very much to #Netgalley for this ARC, to the brilliant and brave #KatherineASherbrooke and the remarkable and unforgettable book #ThisMuchIsTrue and to the publisher #SibyllinePress
This Much Is True, is the first book I’ve had the pleasure of reading by Katherine A. Sherbrooke. It’s no secret this author knows how to get inside the hard truths of life, to create structured, complex and dynamic characters who share interpersonal relationships that can either ensure their bond remains close and secure or destroy their trust, their sense of autonomy and forever scar their futures.
When Mara, introduces her parents Veronica and David to her soon to be in laws, Belinda and Ted at her art gallery show that Belinda had helped her by introducing her to the gallery’s owner, her mother Veronica is shocked back to the worse time of her life as the man who was her high school boyfriend, whom she’d loved and believed she’d ruined their relationship with poor decisions from too much alcohol and waking in the morning with a kid two years her junior reminded by snippets of the assault he’d forced upon her and she was ostracized at school and eventually ran all the way to California to find refuge in her eldest brothers company. Because of that moment, she has been irrevocably broken and changed and never finished high school making college a lost dream of hers.
When she apologized to Jack at the gallery for ending things the way she had, she asked how he was there. He gave her the worst most horrific response she’d couldn’t ever be prepared for. Ted, was her predator. The young unknown kid in the back of that car who’d raped her and then gladly ruined her reputation by making it known that she’d been the one to put them together that night and had intentionally done so to hurt Jack. Ted was going to be her daughter’s father in law. His wife Belinda worked tirelessly on college campuses to bring sexual assaults to the forefront and to make others aware that they had the power to intervene to protect and to stop what they believed was a predatory act in taking advantage of a women under the influence and who was not in control of her faculties at the time of being led into something she wasn’t giving consent to. She had started a non profit called IT’S ON US or IOU for short. When Belinda and Ted spend the weekend at Veronica’s and Davis’ house as they’d planned many months before, Veronica can barely hold herself together. She’d never told her husband, or anyone what had happened she just moved as far away as could and did her best to move on. She believed he would see her as damaged goods or worse, not believe her and she couldn’t handle that anymore than what she has already suffered with.
When she finds out her daughter and her soon to be son in law have been given jobs out in California, her daughter at the artists retreat with free lodging and to head the community of artists there and her son in law was offered a job from Jack, to use his tech resources and his own personal tech invention to help make the company more profitable and Nix, her soon to be son in law, likely extremely successful in the tech world and financially as well.
After nearly a weekend of reliving and feeling the pain and distress of her nearly impossible situation she had finally come to a decision that would take her name and her assault out of the equation but still ensure that Ted would admit what he’d done 40 years earlier and how in his actions he and Jack had teamed together to not only exploit one woman but two and it was the very premise of their lucrative businesses and the link that kept them firmly together in nearly all their business ventures. Veronica couldn’t have her daughter despising her for telling her truth now, being responsible for whatever the aftermath may be for her and Nix or their family. She had a genuine respect and admiration for Belinda but couldn’t allow Ted to be awarded for his work in preventing, making awareness for and preventing assault in females when she knew who he was. Regardless, it was 40 years ago, that one assault led to a lucrative financial merger between himself and Jack and she was the culprit that would face the consequences and the lifelong pain and suffering that went along with assault.
She spoke to him the previous night before they left and again that morning. She had laid out her plan and was certain she would not be the reason for the fallout of his actions ever again. He would admit his actions from 40years prior and the deal that he and Jack had made that connected them and made them wealthier beyond belief with one blatant disregard of a woman and an assault in its most extreme form.
Months later. Mara, Nix, Wyatt and Belinda would be at the awards ceremony in which IOU was being recognized for its work and charity fundraising it had tirelessly devoted to women who were assaulted and raped bu their abuser and the healing process they provided for these women as well as the awareness and the knowledge they regularly provided and continued to speak on throughout country campuses and beyond. Belinda received the award alone, even though these awards have always been given and awarded to a couple. She didn’t make an excuse for where Ted was she only reiterated the importance of holding accountable family loved ones and friends who’ve assaulted women and that protecting them was encouraging them to continue forcing harm and lifelong devastation to the victims. She spoke how important it was to hold these assailants accountable and to confront their crimes and report their actions to do the right thing and protect the victim and not their loved one or family member who has grossly violated and violently assaulted a woman that could’ve been their sister their mother or wife. As a society, it is time we all speak up, whether it’s our child, brother, husband or friend, they need to be held accountable and responsible for their actions that will irreparably impact their victim for the rest of their lives and we need to do this so that victims feel safe coming forward and feel secure in the knowledge they’ll be believed and their predators will be punished.
Veronica will end up telling Davis, Mara also admits to her mother that she too had been a victim of assault and Veronica feels both guilty for never having told her daughter for if she had, she might have come to her and is relieved and proud of Mara for being the one to break the cycle of silence and holding onto an assault alone and living with it solely for an entire lifetime allowing it to irrecoverably affect her every decision and her way of reasoning and decision making that is generally based off of the fear and shame of the assume that was never her responsibility to take on and own. It was her predators and the others who had known about the situation and had remained silent as well as went on to become financially wealthy due to their forged bond from that time.
This book was based on an acute need for the truth regarding assault, the environment and the general attitude and awareness to be irrevocably changed in such an extreme and respectful manner. The typical he said she said testimony before public opinion isn’t only damaging for the victims reputation but it’s also traumatically harmful forcing the victim to relive the tragedy in front of her aggressor and rapist, in a room predominantly filled with men and to have lawyers who will use their well versed skills in legalese to confuse, humiliate and intimidate the victim which causes the victim to seem unable to remember the series of events as they happened and to succeed in telling her story in a way that would have a positive influence on the jury and judge. It’s a flawed system and process that works against the victims and works solely for the predator who is likely to walk away free to assault another victim and continue to do so without any repercussions or consequences because he’s confident that the system in place is not working for the victims but for the defendant and those like him.
The fear and the humiliation and shame needs to be entirely removed from the elements that make up the questions and the investigation into assaults. The clothing, the behavior and the manner prior to the assault is irrelevant and holds no value in the context that she was in fact assaulted and wasn’t a willing participant to the sexual assault she withstood and endured. To mention her past, her dress style, her sexual nature and how often she is sexually active has no bearing on the fact that her assault is not the same as her choice to have sex and willingly commit to the sexual activities she previous has had. This is the main flaw in these circumstances and why there’s more women who refuse to report her sexual assaults than there are the women who do, This is such an important and powerful issue to have based her book on and to show that it is so common it isn’t uncommon for both a mother and her daughter to be assaulted in a lifetime and it’s 1 out 4 women that are regularly being assaulted and choosing NOT to report it or press charges because they are well aware of the odds against them being on their side and they’re protecting their reputation and their family’s heartbreak and suffering as well as their own.
I was so immersed in the emotions and the pain that Veronica was still dealing with acutely and her trauma was as devastating nearly 4 decades later as it had been when it had happened. This was a distinct and incredibly brilliant way to portray the lifelong struggle and suffering and the loneliness that survivors experience for their entire lives. The stripped identity and autonomy from these women is such a wound that isn’t going to heal or be replaced by life’s blessings or the positive aspects she’ll hopefulllt go on to experience. That void and that loss will always be there and because she has chosen to handle it alone, it makes it all the more difficult to get through to a side of forgiveness for herself and recognition that it wasn’t her fault and she didn’t deserve that to happen no matter what the truths were leading up to the assault. A violation and action that takes from someone without permission or participation is a crime and is not the fault of the victim whose rights have been stolen and disrespected and desecrated. This is the fault of the predator, the immoral, soulless and heartless violator who is not ever acting in reasonable circumstances or realistic humanity or even responds to human decency or dignity. She who doesn’t seek help from a professional, a loved one or someone she trusts, carries this heavy burden and weight on her shoulders all her life and it’s exhausting it takes over nearly all her life experience that shouldn’t be shadowed by the heaviness and the reminder of the traumatic experience she was forced to endure and now she alone carrries its excruciating agonizing pain. This is the kind of life that must be healed and helped by professionals and loved ones who can help work the carrying of the burden and release the weight these women so innocent and vulnerable yet have believed the shame and suffering is deserved for one reason or the other. It’s imperative the sexual assault and abuse of women is seen as an violation, an abomination and not a reaction to the previous behavior or dress or inhibitions that substances cause. The men who use these examples as justification and the system that allows them to needs to be radically changed and altered so that the perpetrators are the ones who are investigated questioned blamed and punished instantaneously. There shouldn’t ever be any question about the assault when it’s obvious that it’s happened. Women aren’t out there filing false allegations and trying to get innocent men imprisoned. It’s the men who are violating women and assaulting women that are guilty but have been taught by a biased system to be excused for their actions if the female is promiscuous or dresses sexy or has. A past in sec work. It doesn’t matter what the past or present of her life is. What matters is the assault happened against her will and she wasn’t a participant but a victim and was brutally assaulted and raped, a violation that is so deeply embedded and painfully personal and private that almost always results in shame and embarrassment and perpetual suffering and pain in ways that can never truly be expressed. The odds of a fake allegation are far far more unlikely than the reality of the assault and violation that’s been reported and committed and yet it is still in our systems to place doubt blame and shame women for their actions that have nothing to do with the actual assault and rape. The fact is, we all have the right to behave as we choose and act as we please and not one of those things are deserving or justify rape assault and violation of someone in the most intimate and sensitive manner possible.
I admire the author for choosing such a broken and prevalent issue that is so deeply rooted in the society that we live in and the horrible consequences that females face regularly when they’ve been victimized and don’t report because the statistics don’t lie and the overall general consensus is so backwards by choosing to blame and shame the victims and protect the perpetrators of violating a female in the most intimate and personal manner possible. These men become serial predators and these females are forever altered by the assault and never fully become the women they’d have ordinarily been had it not been so hard for her to prove a crime against her body and the assault that was unwarranted and unjustified yet was broken down in a court of law as her own fault and portrayed her as a women of questionable morals and conduct therefore the general public gregariously accept she was asking for it. This preconceived notion and view needs to be challenged and addressed and rectified. The punishments against rapists and assault predators needs to be harsher and tougher and their defense attorneys shouldn’t be allowed to shame or blame the female for her rape and violent assault due to any of her previous or current lifestyle or behavior. No one asks to be raped simply by having sexual relations with numerous men. There’s a distinct and significant difference between consenting and violating. That’s the focus that needs to be addressed in the investigation process and it’s not one that should be turned against the victim but rather towards the perpetrators. Period.
Incredible book that will have you thinking and remembering the story and how brutally the impact of her assault was all those decades later and how much worse it is knowing there were no consequences or repercussions for the men who robbed her of the life she’d previously been working towards.
Thank you so very much to #Netgalley for this ARC, to the brilliant and brave #KatherineASherbrooke and the remarkable and unforgettable book #ThisMuchIsTrue and to the publisher #SibyllinePress
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
It’s amazing how much suspense can exist in everyday life, amongst everyday people, often simmering just beneath the surface of those lives and people in ways that color everything ... yet remains unspoken, sometimes even unacknowledged.
THIS MUCH IS TRUE grapples with that exact conundrum in story that brings us into a family where all seems well, all feels cohesive and understood, yet one family member—in this case, Veronica, the mother, the wife—has a secret, one that broke her as a teenager and now roars up to potentially destroy everything she holds dear.
It’s during a joyous family gathering, one celebrating the upcoming nuptials of Vernonica’s beloved daughter, that this dormant secret is jarringly brought home when she meets Ted, her soon-to-be son-in-law’s father, and Ted’s friend, Jack, who’s now offering that son-in-law a lucrative job. In a stunning moment of clarity, she recognizes both men as former “friends” from high school, both of whom were party to a soul-crushing event that literally changed her life ... and now appears to threaten the same again.
Exploring themes of personal survival, dogged reinvention, and the tentacled danger of secrets, even those long-held, Katherine A. Sherbrooke masterly weaves her story through various viewpoints and shifting emotions, pulling readers into very real questions of “when is truth required?” Is it essential even when it can literally blow two families apart, damage relationships, and change the course of lives? Or is it worth the sacrifice of the secret-holder’s well-being to stuff it down in deference others?
These are complex questions being tackled by a complex set of characters in a narrative that keeps us riveted and absorbed. You won’t be able to put it down.
This smart, well-told story comes with a high recommend.
THIS MUCH IS TRUE grapples with that exact conundrum in story that brings us into a family where all seems well, all feels cohesive and understood, yet one family member—in this case, Veronica, the mother, the wife—has a secret, one that broke her as a teenager and now roars up to potentially destroy everything she holds dear.
It’s during a joyous family gathering, one celebrating the upcoming nuptials of Vernonica’s beloved daughter, that this dormant secret is jarringly brought home when she meets Ted, her soon-to-be son-in-law’s father, and Ted’s friend, Jack, who’s now offering that son-in-law a lucrative job. In a stunning moment of clarity, she recognizes both men as former “friends” from high school, both of whom were party to a soul-crushing event that literally changed her life ... and now appears to threaten the same again.
Exploring themes of personal survival, dogged reinvention, and the tentacled danger of secrets, even those long-held, Katherine A. Sherbrooke masterly weaves her story through various viewpoints and shifting emotions, pulling readers into very real questions of “when is truth required?” Is it essential even when it can literally blow two families apart, damage relationships, and change the course of lives? Or is it worth the sacrifice of the secret-holder’s well-being to stuff it down in deference others?
These are complex questions being tackled by a complex set of characters in a narrative that keeps us riveted and absorbed. You won’t be able to put it down.
This smart, well-told story comes with a high recommend.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Sibylline Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! ♡
This Much Is True made me think a lot about how often women are expected to think about the consequences of telling the truth before anyone considers the consequences of what was done to them. It hit a verrry personal spot in me.
Veronica has spent decades living around a trauma she never spoke about, only for the man responsible to suddenly reappear as the father of her daughter’s fiancé. From there, the book becomes less about uncovering what happened and more about the unbearable arithmetic of disclosure: who will be hurt, whose life will change, and why Veronica still feels responsible for managing all of it.
That was easily the strongest part for me. I appreciated that the novel allows her to be frightened, uncertain and even contradictory rather than turning survival into a neat story of empowerment. Silence kept her safe once. Years later, it has become its own kind of confinement.
I did think some of the plotting relied a liiiiittle heavily on coincidence, and there were places where I wanted the book to dig deeper rather than explain its point quite so clearly. But Veronica’s dilemma felt painfully believable, and I found myself genuinely invested in what she would choose.
A thoughtful, uncomfortable novel. Hits the parts of shame, memory, motherhood felt in these situations and the enormous burden placed on women to decide when the truth is finally allowed to matter.
This Much Is True made me think a lot about how often women are expected to think about the consequences of telling the truth before anyone considers the consequences of what was done to them. It hit a verrry personal spot in me.
Veronica has spent decades living around a trauma she never spoke about, only for the man responsible to suddenly reappear as the father of her daughter’s fiancé. From there, the book becomes less about uncovering what happened and more about the unbearable arithmetic of disclosure: who will be hurt, whose life will change, and why Veronica still feels responsible for managing all of it.
That was easily the strongest part for me. I appreciated that the novel allows her to be frightened, uncertain and even contradictory rather than turning survival into a neat story of empowerment. Silence kept her safe once. Years later, it has become its own kind of confinement.
I did think some of the plotting relied a liiiiittle heavily on coincidence, and there were places where I wanted the book to dig deeper rather than explain its point quite so clearly. But Veronica’s dilemma felt painfully believable, and I found myself genuinely invested in what she would choose.
A thoughtful, uncomfortable novel. Hits the parts of shame, memory, motherhood felt in these situations and the enormous burden placed on women to decide when the truth is finally allowed to matter.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book tackles very serious subjects -- primarily, the shame, pain, fear, and decision to keep secret a terrible sexual assault that happened years ago. Just read the national news -- so many alleged male sexual predators and assailants are living free and successful lives, while their victims are dealing with lifelong trauma.
This novel's plot may rely a bit too much on coincidence -- the parents of two families meet to celebrate the impending marriage of their children; the mother of the bride is shocked to discover that the father of her future son-in-law raped her when she was in high school, and he, along with the father's best friend, lied about it, blamed the victim, eventually forcing her to move to another state to avoid humiliation and public shaming. Despite the implausible plot point that the victim would discover her attacker in this way, I gave the book four stars overall because the author does a good job highlighting the inexcusable fact that victimized women have a difficult time proving their cases, and more needs to be done to protect and defend them in these situations. But enough grandstanding -- this is a well-written novel and worth reading.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Sibbylline Press for the eARC and the opportunity to read this novel All opinions are my own.
This novel's plot may rely a bit too much on coincidence -- the parents of two families meet to celebrate the impending marriage of their children; the mother of the bride is shocked to discover that the father of her future son-in-law raped her when she was in high school, and he, along with the father's best friend, lied about it, blamed the victim, eventually forcing her to move to another state to avoid humiliation and public shaming. Despite the implausible plot point that the victim would discover her attacker in this way, I gave the book four stars overall because the author does a good job highlighting the inexcusable fact that victimized women have a difficult time proving their cases, and more needs to be done to protect and defend them in these situations. But enough grandstanding -- this is a well-written novel and worth reading.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Sibbylline Press for the eARC and the opportunity to read this novel All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Veronica Harmon has kept a secret deeply buried for over four decades…that is until her daughter’s future in-laws arrive for a long weekend and threaten not only her peace of mind, but also her daughter’s future. The story unfolds in agonizing detail the emotional turmoil Veronica finds herself in as she struggles to find justice for herself while protecting her beloved daughter. Amid her own personal dilemma, she also finds that her fulfilling career is about to implode, and the family’s legacy business may be up for sale.
This well-crafted novel with strong character development may be triggering for anyone who has experienced sexual abuse, namely rape. The novel explores, with compassion and sensitivity, the immediate and long-term consequences of such violation for women who must chose to either remain silent in their rage and internal shame or to speak up and face possible ridicule and external shaming without a guarantee that their brave stand may make any difference. While the book was entertaining, it was also thought-provoking and not an easy read.
My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This review will be posted on Amazon upon publication.
This well-crafted novel with strong character development may be triggering for anyone who has experienced sexual abuse, namely rape. The novel explores, with compassion and sensitivity, the immediate and long-term consequences of such violation for women who must chose to either remain silent in their rage and internal shame or to speak up and face possible ridicule and external shaming without a guarantee that their brave stand may make any difference. While the book was entertaining, it was also thought-provoking and not an easy read.
My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This review will be posted on Amazon upon publication.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5⭐️ - Despite the heavy subject matter, I enjoyed reading this book. The plot was interesting, told through alternating chapters from the mother and daughter. However it felt a little surface level to me and I feel like there was such an opportunity to really dive into the expectations and opinions placed on women.
For example, we never really get to the bottom of why Veronica felt and acted the way she did back in high school, or why she continued to carry that with her even after presumably being exposed to more modern narratives. Without giving anything away, some of the “coincidences” also just felt a little too on the nose for me.
I also think I would have liked more of an ending, but that may be personal preference. To me, it just felt like another missed opportunity to dive in a bit deeper. I wanted to know more about the lives after, any potential fallout, the way it had helped/harmed the family relationships, etc.
Overall, in my opinion, it was a good book, but missing the depth to be a great one. However I would still recommend it to my friends.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
For example, we never really get to the bottom of why Veronica felt and acted the way she did back in high school, or why she continued to carry that with her even after presumably being exposed to more modern narratives. Without giving anything away, some of the “coincidences” also just felt a little too on the nose for me.
I also think I would have liked more of an ending, but that may be personal preference. To me, it just felt like another missed opportunity to dive in a bit deeper. I wanted to know more about the lives after, any potential fallout, the way it had helped/harmed the family relationships, etc.
Overall, in my opinion, it was a good book, but missing the depth to be a great one. However I would still recommend it to my friends.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Veronica has a desire to save people and animals, but she can't save herself from her memories. She is haunted by her high school experience and the choices that surviving it led her to make. She keeps this secret bottled up inside herself, never telling anyone, not her parents or brother when it happened, not her high school "friends," and not even, later, her husband Davis - the love of her life.
Her past sneaks up on her the weekend that her daughter's future in-laws come to stay and Veronica has a reckoning. At times, I was worried that the author would give the story a dissatisfying ending and I would be annoyed by it. But that is the hallmark of a good writer, and Sherbrooke leaves us with a solid ending. It isn't all wrapped up prettily, and we don't know all the details, but we know enough to be satisfied that Veronica finally has some justice and, through it all, is still close with her husband and daughter.
Well done, Katherine Sherbrooke, and thank you. Thanks also to NetGalley and Sibylline Press for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Her past sneaks up on her the weekend that her daughter's future in-laws come to stay and Veronica has a reckoning. At times, I was worried that the author would give the story a dissatisfying ending and I would be annoyed by it. But that is the hallmark of a good writer, and Sherbrooke leaves us with a solid ending. It isn't all wrapped up prettily, and we don't know all the details, but we know enough to be satisfied that Veronica finally has some justice and, through it all, is still close with her husband and daughter.
Well done, Katherine Sherbrooke, and thank you. Thanks also to NetGalley and Sibylline Press for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This Much is True is an expertly written novel about the complexity of sexual assault, even when it is an historical event. Mara and Nix, a young couple on the cusp of a wonderful life in the arts and science, have families that come together for one weekend. Veronica and Belinda, the mothers, are the backbone of this tense story's plot.
Sexual assault is far deeper and more complex than the #MeToo stories in the press, social media, and even in films. The scourge of predators and their prey penetrates the lives of entire families involved. For a mother worried about her daughter's future, this story is prescient and demands thoughtful consideration in real life as it did in this fiction. Katherine Sherbrooke has written an important novel for our time, taking into account the histories many people keep in their secret pasts.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital ARC. The novel will be published on September 18, 2026.
Sexual assault is far deeper and more complex than the #MeToo stories in the press, social media, and even in films. The scourge of predators and their prey penetrates the lives of entire families involved. For a mother worried about her daughter's future, this story is prescient and demands thoughtful consideration in real life as it did in this fiction. Katherine Sherbrooke has written an important novel for our time, taking into account the histories many people keep in their secret pasts.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital ARC. The novel will be published on September 18, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
On her fifty-eighth birthday, Veronica Harmon is happily married, has three children, and a fulfilling career. But when she meets her daughter’s future in-laws, she is shocked to recognize the husband from an incident in high school that changed her life.
This book is incredibly well written, and you really feel everything Veronica is carrying: protecting her daughter, reckoning with a past she has successfully buried, and realizing how difficult it may be to do both.
The writing is beautiful, the characters feel deeply human, and the story feels incredibly real. Veronica’s internal struggle is portrayed with so much honesty and nuance that I found myself completely absorbed in her story.
Thank you Sibylline Press and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!
This book is incredibly well written, and you really feel everything Veronica is carrying: protecting her daughter, reckoning with a past she has successfully buried, and realizing how difficult it may be to do both.
The writing is beautiful, the characters feel deeply human, and the story feels incredibly real. Veronica’s internal struggle is portrayed with so much honesty and nuance that I found myself completely absorbed in her story.
Thank you Sibylline Press and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
what started out as a slow burn eventually crescendoed into one of the more powerful SA-driven storylines i’ve read to-date. this book presents an incredible moral dilemma… would you risk outing your attacker 40 years later if it meant potentially ruining your daughter’s chance at a happy relationship with her future in-laws? the way veronica navigates this unique challenge had me hanging on every word and the reckoning at the end had me all fired up. well done!
thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. this one will stay with me for awhile.
thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. this one will stay with me for awhile.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Ro Harmon has it all. Fulfilling career, loving family, a beautiful home. Her daughter, Mara, has her first art exhibition, and she is meeting Mara's fiance's parents for the first time. To her shock, she realizes that she knows Belinda's husband, Ted. They went to the same high school, and something happened that changed the course of her life. If she discloses the incident, it will ruin Mara's life. But can she really keep silent?
What a powerful book. I read it in one sitting. I really felt drawn into this story. Ro had an impossible decision to make. Highly, highly recommended.
What a powerful book. I read it in one sitting. I really felt drawn into this story. Ro had an impossible decision to make. Highly, highly recommended.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was such an amazing and important book about the secrets we as women bury and how speaking our truth can heal us despite how difficult it is. The characters were all so amazing in this book. The theme of assault is so relevant especially in our current times and by the end of this book I felt empowerment oozing from the pages. What a wonderful and impactful book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 29, 2026
This is such a wonderful story of hurt, resilience, reinvention, and reckoning. Veronica and Davis have built a wonderful life together. They’re anticipating a fun filled weekend of getting to know their daughter’s soon-to-be in-laws. To Veronica’s surprise, she knows Ted, her daughter’s fiancées father. Unfortunately it’s not a happy reunion and Veronica faces the dilemma of revealing their history and risking ruining her daughter’s future happiness. A wonderful read!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This story handles a deeply sensitive topic and poses a dilemma I think any woman would struggle to give the best answer for. The topic is handled well whilst simultaneously creating richly clear characters.
It’s on the shorter side which I appreciated as the tension ratcheted up as the story got clearer and clearer - and my heart kept cracking with each new detail reveal.
It is probably a 4.5* for me because it was really good!
It’s on the shorter side which I appreciated as the tension ratcheted up as the story got clearer and clearer - and my heart kept cracking with each new detail reveal.
It is probably a 4.5* for me because it was really good!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
this book is wonderful. i have no words to describe how wonderful and so beautifully written 'this much is true' is. veronica is such a strong character, her resilience is an exemple to all of us. this book shows how a victim is affected even after so many years of this tremendous trauma, how it affects her life, her relationships. i'm glad the author's approach was so sensible.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Really good book but sad. It was kinda a hard read not because of the descriptions but the context. Thinking about how many women and girls go through.
I’m glad that they were able to finally talk and loved the ending.
Thank you NetGalley for the copy
I’m glad that they were able to finally talk and loved the ending.
Thank you NetGalley for the copy
August 22, 2026
This was not my cup of tea. I read a lot of books and this subject matter just couldn’t interest me enough to keep reading. I DNF after 30%, just couldn’t go on. I’m sure her other books are popular, this one I just couldn’t get behind with the plot. Thanks to Netgalley for my advance copy.
Read
August 24, 2026Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. I understand the author wanted to use experiences from 16 Candles, but it just annoyed me. It felt like a rip off. I appreciate the messages the book is trying to send, but it just fell flat.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I really enjoyed this book. Was concerned I might be disappointed in the characters' choices in the end, but was very happy with how the author brought it all together.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank to Sibbylline and NetGalley for ARC!
What a thought provoking story. I loved reading Veronica’s brave story. Please add to your TBR!
What a thought provoking story. I loved reading Veronica’s brave story. Please add to your TBR!
Review of advance copy
For a novel where not much actually happened, there was certainly a lot going on in this one. I love a good slow-burn novel that explores a character's motivations and has slow reveals, and this book hit that mark. The writing is thoughtful and considered, though occasionally ambiguity creeps in and some passages stick out as being a bit tricky to parse. Some of it is repetitive - but, in my opinion, that adds to the topic, as dealing with trauma IS at its heart a repetitive process.
Unfortunately, there were too many "throwaway" characters, characters mentioned just once or twice, and underdeveloped characters, which detracted from the overall story.
That being said, I overall enjoyed the book. I think Sherbrooke approached a difficult topic with intentionality and managed to write it in a way that is respectful - this isn't a story written with the intention to shock; it's a real story that explores a complex situation in a nuanced way and really leaves one thinking.
I would rate 3.5 if I could!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Unfortunately, there were too many "throwaway" characters, characters mentioned just once or twice, and underdeveloped characters, which detracted from the overall story.
That being said, I overall enjoyed the book. I think Sherbrooke approached a difficult topic with intentionality and managed to write it in a way that is respectful - this isn't a story written with the intention to shock; it's a real story that explores a complex situation in a nuanced way and really leaves one thinking.
I would rate 3.5 if I could!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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