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Todo lo que dejamos atras

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Ella tiene una vida maravillosa, un marido que la adora, una hija de la que se enorgullece y un hogar lleno de calidez y amor. Sin embargo, la vida no siempre le fue tan bien como ahora y, lo cierto, es que en el pasado hizo algo inconfesable.
Pero una noche recibe de pronto una llamada telefónica. Es una voz de hace mucho tiempo, procedente de un pasado que ha intentado ocultar a toda costa. Scott sabe quién es ella en realidad y lo que ha hecho. Ahora le da un ultimátum: o cuenta la verdad o será él quien la revele.
Fue hace mucho tiempo, un caluroso y lejano verano de 1976, pero ahora el pasado regresa y amenaza con salir a la luz… y toda la tranquilidad que creía lograda se podría desvanecer.

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

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1928 people want to read

About the author

Susan Elliot Wright

10 books123 followers
Susan Elliot Wright grew up in Lewisham in south-east London. Before becoming a full-time writer, she did a number of different jobs, including civil servant, cleaner, dishwasher, journalist, and chef. She has an MA in writing from Sheffield Hallam University, where she is now an associate lecturer, and she lives in Sheffield with her husband and a big black dog called Henry. She is currently at work on her fourth novel, which will be published by Simon & Schuster in 2018.

Susan's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/susanelliotw...

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5 stars
1,052 (14%)
4 stars
2,887 (39%)
3 stars
2,743 (37%)
2 stars
519 (7%)
1 star
78 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 459 reviews
Profile Image for Taury.
1,201 reviews198 followers
November 15, 2022
The Secrets We Left Behind by Susan Elliot Wright was a book about how secrets don't make friends. A pair of very young adults made a mistake that caused a life to be lost. Then hide that secrets for over 20 years. 20 years later the secret came out closely causing Jo/Eve to almost lose everything she has built in her life. This takes place on two timelines 1976 and 2010.

It takes a great man to raise another man's child as his own.
Profile Image for Dale Harcombe.
Author 14 books426 followers
December 12, 2016
Three and a half stars.
This is another book about a secret. Not just a minor secret but one that if it should come out would have a major impact. It impinges on not just on one woman’s life but that of her husband and daughter. A phone call out of the blue threatens all that she has worked hard to put behind her. What can she do about it? Because it seems this person will keep pursuing the matter until he gets the response he demands.
This is a story told in two time frames. One is 2009 and 2010. The other takes place in 1976. This was one story where I found the contemporary story interested me more than that of 1976. But the story from that earlier time was absolutely necessary to put the reader in the picture and explain the choices made. This was an easy read and the characters were well portrayed. I did think the ending was wrapped up just a little too quickly and neatly, given the rest. But overall an interesting read that plays on the emotions.
Profile Image for Patty.
303 reviews78 followers
October 13, 2015
This certainly is a melancholy book, but of course it has reason to be. It is about a very big mistake that was made when the main character was 16 or 17 years old. Towards the beginning of the book I could have sworn she said she was 17, but then at the end of the book she says she was 16, so 16 or 17. Regardless we certainly do make mistakes at that age, and hers was a mistake that would last a lifetime. It is a slow moving story and so many pages could have been eliminated. It was a book about how to come to terms with what she did so very long ago and the lasting effects it has on people even after all these years.
Profile Image for Nicole*bookaholic*.
736 reviews34 followers
June 3, 2022
I listened to this on audible. I was getting frustrated because they never said the main characters name except when Scott comes around and she tells him not to call her Jo. But you later find out why. Some twists and turns. Nothing too shocking.
Profile Image for Cleopatra  Pullen.
1,559 reviews323 followers
May 8, 2014
How does a woman learn to live with a secret that has been buried for more than thirty years? Not just any old secret, one that makes her heart pound with fear whenever she considers the truth coming out!

In 2009 where we meet a woman who has everything she could have wished for: a loving husband, a daughter she is proud of, a beautiful house and job where she helps others less fortunate than herself, but when she believes she may have seen someone from long ago, she is scared, and then the telephone starts ringing….

The secret she is desperate to keep has its roots in the sweltering hot summer of 1976 when following the death of her mother the teenager leaves Cornwall for the bright lights of London where she meets a motherly woman just a couple of years older than herself who offers her a room in the squat she inhabits with her partner in Hastings.

Susan Elliot Wright weaves a tale that will make you question, every step of the way, what would I do? The author spun a story that I invested in, all the while rooting for the motherless teenager while knowing that in the future the consequences of the hot summer would be bought to bear on a life that had been fought for.

Although I was quite young during 1976 there were enough authentic details included in this book that took me back to the summer that seemed to last forever from the ingenious ways the squatters found to water their plants while they were re-enacting ‘The Good Life’ with their home-grown vegetables, natural medicines and an art and craft stall selling jewellery made out of the shells they found on the beach. I could taste the melting ice-creams as our protagonist grows up alongside her new found friends.

I did guess the secret but that didn’t take away the enjoyment I found reading this tale, a story of love and loss, growing up and taking responsibility as well as relationships in all their guises. Susan Elliot Wright shies away from depicting her characters as good or bad, each one we meet in this book is a ‘real’ person a mixture of strengths and weaknesses that I missed when I closed the last page.

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read and write an honest review of this book by the publishers, Simon & Schuster, ahead of the publication date of tomorrow, 8 May 2014, because I had enjoyed Susan Elliot Wright’s debut novel The Things We Never Said which is also set in Hastings.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers Simon & Schuster in return for my honest review.
Profile Image for Sandy.between.books.
471 reviews52 followers
July 6, 2016

Me ha gustado, pero no tanto como esperaba. La primera parte es la que más engancha porque quieres descubrirlo todo, pero a partir de la mitad ya descubres cosas que te hacen pensar en cómo acaba y no es sorprendente. Pero para cambiar de registro está bien :D
Profile Image for The Phoenix .
559 reviews53 followers
March 21, 2023
This is a very interesting book. My take away is to be open and honest. Secrets about mistakes we made in our past can destroy our family today if we lie and try to keep them hidden.
43 reviews4 followers
June 20, 2023
3.5 Stars
Excellent audiobook. Very well done. The narrator was wonderful.

The story was fascinating. Melancholy in tone, but it kept me fairly riveted as I was eager to learn how it ends. Somewhat, but not completely, predictable from hints by the author, there was much sweetness throughout.
Profile Image for Alina.
693 reviews5 followers
October 12, 2022
She has it all, an adoring husband, a beautiful daughter, a job where she helps women in need, just like the ones she once was... and a couple of dark secrets. The time has come, to tell the truth, and make amends.

The Secrets We Left Behind is an emotional read. The dual timeline opens the door to our heroine's past. She had a happy childhood, up until the moment her family fell apart. As a teenager, she takes the role of the head of the household. The "secret" referred to in the novel is very easy to guess. However, the events that took place in 1976 and led Jo to begin to lie about her past are heart-rending. The last scene at the cottage nearly made me cry. I was overwhelmed by the feelings of love and loss.

Overall, this is a good, fast read, very moving at times. I would love to read more from this very talented author.
Profile Image for Byzarabooks.
77 reviews8 followers
July 2, 2022
La protagonista es una mujer que parece tener una vida plena y feliz. Vive con su marido Duncan y su perro Monty, tiene un buen trabajo y una muy buena relación con su hija Hannah.
Sin embargo, su familia desconoce que los ha estado engañando todos estos años. En el pasado, hizo algo que solo Scott sabe.
Él ya no formaba parte de su vida, pero ha vuelto y le dice que deben reunirse para hablar de algo muy importante.
¿Por qué volvió después de tanto tiempo? ¿Qué será lo que tiene que decirle? ¿Aceptará reunirse con él?
Trata temas como recuerdos, muerte, drogas, alcohol, engaños, cáncer, abandono, humillaciones, decepción, pasado, depresión, traición, culpa, egoísmo y secretos.
Empecé esta lectura en mayo, pero solo pude leer el 50% del libro. Siéndoles sincera, a pesar de que no es muy extenso, se me estaba haciendo una lectura demasiado pesada. Además, no podía conectar con la historia ni con los personajes. De todas formas, decidí darle una oportunidad y continuar leyéndolo en junio.
Considero que hay muchas escenas y descripciones que son innecesarias, ya que no suman nada y parecen estar solo de relleno. En mi opinión, a partir de las últimas cien páginas es cuando se empieza a poner más interesante.
El final no me sorprendió, de hecho, me pareció sumamente predecible.
Algo para destacar es que tiene dos tipos de narraciones y son en épocas diferentes: 1976 y narrado en tercera persona, 2010 y narrado por la protagonista. Siento que es algo que suma un montón, ya que nos ofrecen un contexto más amplio en el cual situar la historia y los personajes.
Otra cosa para resaltar es que los capítulos son bastante cortos.
Profile Image for Eadle.
346 reviews8 followers
November 15, 2022
As an Audible member I often peruse their Originals and Plus offerings when I need something to listen to, especially something to fall asleep to. I like the white noise and for this occasion, I like the free section.

I’ve been surprised before and THE SECRETS WE LEFT BEHIND was a dandy surprise. The dual timeline works perfectly and I’d say the narrator is pretty close to perfect. There is a main character, along with two very major ones—it’s not their story but they play major roles and there wouldn’t be much of a story. Each of the three has a distinctive voice, never a doubt who is speaking, and not a one is annoying! I adore an English accent and it’s possible Ellen Archer’s smooth narration pushed this novel into the four range.

The story will quickly, successfully entice its reader early on and it gets curiouser and curiouser. I was rather fond of the MC and felt for her as the story unfolds and reveals the past. The author leaves a few not-so-subtle clues as to where the story is going. I wish there had been more mystery involved, but even though I knew the destination and that a train wreck was imminent, no way was I getting off. I was on the ride till the end!

Within the 1976 timeline (oh, what an era that was), the trio of characters are young and naive, living a free, autonomous hippie lifestyle. They are rigorous and inflexible within their belief system, and would never recognize or admit to their naïveté. Consequently they make some monumental life-changing mistakes. The author wisely avoids demonizing any one of them and I suspect this was intentional. She doesn’t lead her readers, but allows us the freedom to feel as we want to feel.

It’s a pretty big situation going on! I was wrapped up in the outcome. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I will only say the ending was handled extremely wisely.

I do recommend this and wouldn’t mind seeking out another by this author, but the weight of my TBR list has me feeling like a literary Sisyphus. We shall see.
Profile Image for Saray.
488 reviews84 followers
July 23, 2016
Todo lo que dejamos atrás es una historia sobre los secretos del pasado que acaban saliendo a la luz en el presente.
Una novela que va saltando entre el pasado y el presente, mostrando retazos de la vida en un pueblo de Inglaterra en los años 70.

La protagonista es una mujer de mediana edad con una vida tranquila, un marido que la quiere y una hija que acaba de hacerla abuela.
Pero todo se tambalea cuando vuelve a su vida Scott, un hombre con el que compartió algunos meses de su juventud y que amenaza con sacar a la luz todo aquello que ha escondido desde entonces y que es el único que conoce.

Reseña completa: http://beingsaray.blogspot.com.es/201...
Profile Image for Karla Jacqueline.
319 reviews16 followers
November 2, 2016
DIOS!!! Que historia!!! A pesar que las primeras cincuenta páginas no me enganchaban, debo admitir que después no pude soltar este libro, es una novela magnífica, muy bien pensada y trabajada por la autora que supo plasmarla en estas páginas y sobre todo llena de emoción a tope, me hizo sentir muchísimas cosas y por eso le estoy dando una puntuación de 4.5/5 (porque goodreads no deja poner medias puntuaciones).

Es una novela llena de mucho misterio y suspenso que te mantiene al pendiente en cada momento, contiene giros inesperados (aunque a veces puede ser predecible) pero no deja de sorprenderte. Una historia llena de amor que te hace reflexionar en muchos sentidos.

Reseña completa: http://karlajgalindo.blogspot.mx/2016...
Profile Image for Jenilee Houghtailing.
271 reviews
November 23, 2021
Good but not great. I enjoyed the two stories being told at once. The characters were likeable, yet had their flaws. Although I guessed the secret before the end, the suspense was handled fairly well.
Profile Image for Audrey.
374 reviews
October 3, 2022
DNF. I was going to try to finish this book but I literally groaned every time I picked it up. I guessed the ending quite early, confirmed my guess was correct on Google, and put it down. It’s SO SLOW. It’s so internal that it suffers, too. I just can’t give any more time to this one.
Profile Image for Jen.
268 reviews22 followers
July 2, 2015
70 pages in and I had to quit this book. its way too predictable and the writing style too bland for my taste.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
338 reviews5 followers
April 18, 2022
A good storyline just too overwritten. It was a sad story with a few lighter moments to soften the sadness.
Profile Image for Angela.
73 reviews4 followers
June 6, 2023
Had a hard time pushing through this. Found it very predictable and could not embrace the characters.
Profile Image for Crescent Fox Tales.
122 reviews8 followers
December 22, 2024
Not my favorite .. chapter 36 was weird and made me want to throw the whole book out the window.. no wonder it took so long for this story to get to the point because of literally how unlikable Jo our MFC is..
A book that's riddled with flashbacks and overloaded with pretty much everyone losing their parent which made the story extremely predictable. Even with the crafting swap meets by the sea aspect .. there wasn't much in regards to dynamics.. the whole open relationship twist was pointless in my opinion because I don't think Jo and Scott needed to sleep together in order for Jo to want to stick around for the sake of Eve. IDK this just realy made me not like Scott .. and why wasn't anybody keeping a closer eye on Eve when she needed them both the most ..as if accidently letting someone die wasn't bad enough these two decide to run from accountability .. all Jo cares about in the long run is her "perfect life" getting ruined and Scott wanting sympathy cause he's dying of cancer and suddenly discovers he has a conscious.. one big ick of a circle jerk.
I personally wouldn't recommend this book but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be enjoyable for some..just wasn't my cup of tea.
671 reviews58 followers
July 30, 2022
Audible.com 10 hours 29 min. Narrated by Ellen Spencer(A)

How does a woman live with herself when her life is based on a lie?

Susan Eliot Wright pulls you into "Jo's" happy family with her loving, thoughtful husband who loves his step-daughter like she's his own. Years pass and now their daughter is married and dealing with bonding with her newborn. Jo wants to help her daughter, but there's the fine line she's afraid of crossing by offering too much help. It's Christmas Eve eve and there are some last minute purchases she needs in order to make this first Christmas "perfect." While shopping, Jo spots a familiar figure from her hidden past, and her happy world is about to unravel.
Then the author takes the reader back to Jo's unhappy childhood and the death of her mother when Jo's just a teen, still just a child herself. The choices she makes affect the woman she becomes.
And that's where the author lost my support by including using drugs.
My favorite character is Jo's mother-in-law who has aged gracefully and has always been accepting and supportive to her and her "granddaughter." When trouble comes, she becomes the mother that Jo has needed but never had. She encourages Jo as she must rebuild the trust of her husband and daughter.
Profile Image for Eileen.
34 reviews1 follower
March 13, 2023
Wright's novel moves between the 1970s and 2010, in Northern England, and it's told in a compelling and anxious way by a narrator who is 16 at the start of events. In a world of chaos the unnamed narrator finds a family with two drift-abouts who idealistically believe in free love and squat living in 1976, a time where such is no longer so fashionable. A summer of heat and drought is the setting for the climactic events of the past as reflected in what is now a middle-aged satisfaction--until that is threatened. Although one can predict early what happened in the past, it's not a mystery story as much as a tale of regrets, unexpected blessings, and reconciliation.
Profile Image for David .
126 reviews3 followers
April 13, 2022
La verdad muy aburrido, se pudo haber ahorrado como 100 hojas, aveces se alargaba mucho con cosas que no aportan nada a la trama, descripciones casi sin sentido.

Y aparte el "secreto" me lo imagine desde un inicio, entonces fue algo largo y cuyo "gran" secreto ya lo sabia.

Personajes muy cuadrados como Duncan osea sus dialogos eran muy cliche.
Pero el unico personaje "rescatable" seria Eva su forma de ser era muy natural y amigable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
201 reviews
June 6, 2023
In many ways a fairly pedestrian story with an oft used twist. I use twist in the loosest of terms as the big reveal was so obvious it started to get frustrating that the pretence was kept up so long.

That said, this was an easy read and overall I very much enjoyed reading it. An ideal holiday read
Profile Image for Elena Raluca.
58 reviews5 followers
January 8, 2021
Le doy 3 estrellas porque me ha parecido bastante simplón. Esta bien escrito, sí atrapa pero no engancha y tampoco puedo decir que es una obra maestra. No lo recomendaría porque hay miles de libros mejores por ahí....
2 reviews
February 7, 2024
I found it a bit slow at the beginning, and considered “shelving” it… BOY am I glad I didn’t! My favorite part of a mystery or suspense novel, or in this case ‘the secret’ is when you think you have figured it out and… jaw drop! I enjoyed it immensely and recommend highly.
126 reviews
July 25, 2024
Such a great book. Family secrets. Love and lost.
The overall story is heartbreaking and I wish the ending was different
I wish Hannah was able to meet her dad. But I guess this tells a more realistic story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Martee Grainger.
48 reviews4 followers
March 21, 2023
A worthwhile story that I was invested in but a predictable ending.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 459 reviews

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