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What She Left for Me
When Jana returns from a missions trip, she discovers that her pastor husband has left with his secretary...along with their bank account. Humiliated, penniless, pregnant, and very much alone, Jana reluctantly turns to her mother, Eleanor, in desperation. Eleanor is haunted by her own guilt and pain, and the arrival of her daughter only serves as a daily reminder of the memories she has long kept hidden away. Will a delightfully eccentric aunt become a catalyst between these two women? Will they allow God's spirit--and God's people--to bring true healing...and a future filled with love?
352 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2005
101 people are currently reading
1172 people want to read
About the author
Tracie Peterson
254 books3,093 followersTracie Peterson is a bestselling author who writes in both historical and contemporary genres. Her novels reveal her love for research as well as her strong desire to develop emotionally meaningful characters and stories for her readers. Tracie and her family live in Montana.
pen name: Janelle Jamison
pen name: Janelle Jamison
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
July 31, 2017
**Update** Peterson did a barely average job tying together the stories of Lana and her mother Eleanor. In fact, this book dwells far more on Eleanor than Lana. Peterson attempts to resolve the conflicts that plagued the characters but does so in a manner that leaves much to be desired. This book did not survive round two of the purge from my personal collection.
A review from my old blog...
I found myself pleasantly surprised by this book. I used to absolutely love all of Peterson's book but after taking a long break from reading her books I picked up one a few months ago and found the entire book entirely distasteful.
Judging from that experience I did not know what to expect when I started reading this book. I enjoyed the book. I found it on one of the shelves at my grandmother's house and she gave it to me. Originally I had decided to sell it as soon as I read it but I'm actually considering keeping it.
Although Peterson utilized a couple of techniques that separated me from the story momentarily she told a story that spanned three generations and thirty years in a way that made me come to love the characters.
A review from my old blog...
I found myself pleasantly surprised by this book. I used to absolutely love all of Peterson's book but after taking a long break from reading her books I picked up one a few months ago and found the entire book entirely distasteful.
Judging from that experience I did not know what to expect when I started reading this book. I enjoyed the book. I found it on one of the shelves at my grandmother's house and she gave it to me. Originally I had decided to sell it as soon as I read it but I'm actually considering keeping it.
Although Peterson utilized a couple of techniques that separated me from the story momentarily she told a story that spanned three generations and thirty years in a way that made me come to love the characters.
March 11, 2016
I was in the mood for something different, so I spent quite a bit of time going through my cloud at Amazon, looking through the hundreds (or maybe in the thousands now) of free books I have downloaded. I have read several of Tracie Peterson's historical books and always enjoyed them. This one read differently, and I took a chance, not knowing if I would enjoy it. The subject matter was difficult, it covers molestation and rape and infidelity, among other topics. But they were handled carefully and not graphically (which is another reason I read almost exclusively Christian fiction) and were an intricate part of the story. The story included forgiveness, and grace, and redemption and the reminder that no matter what awful tragedy befalls us in life, God never leaves us, He never forsakes us. We can blame God and question Why, Why God, Why me, over and over, but He is still there, waiting patiently for us to return to Him. Really good book, tough to read at times, but so well written that it was worth it.
January 29, 2024
This was a powerful book about God's redemption and favor in our lives! It does have some sensitive topics but I appreciated how Peterson talks just enough about them to display God's grace and favor in our lives and how He redeems even the vilest
July 9, 2024
Stars:⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.25 stars)
Read: June 2024
Format: borrowed audiobook from Everand
Narrator: Linda Stephens
Challenge Prompt: CNL’s #50 of 50 - “Recommended by someone you know.”
Book #64 of 2024: I enjoyed parts of this book but felt it was too long and drawn out. I found my mind wandering a lot. The narrator wasn’t a good fit for a woman in her twenties. Her voice was good for Taffy and Eleanor but not for the main character.
I actually preferred the characters of Taffy and Eleanor more than Janna. (I hope I’m spelling that correctly since I listened to the audiobook and didn’t see a print copy.) I found Janna a little aggravating.
To me, the real plus of this novel was the healing of the mother-daughter relationship and how both were challenged to be nicer and more open individuals as well.
Read: June 2024
Format: borrowed audiobook from Everand
Narrator: Linda Stephens
Challenge Prompt: CNL’s #50 of 50 - “Recommended by someone you know.”
Book #64 of 2024: I enjoyed parts of this book but felt it was too long and drawn out. I found my mind wandering a lot. The narrator wasn’t a good fit for a woman in her twenties. Her voice was good for Taffy and Eleanor but not for the main character.
I actually preferred the characters of Taffy and Eleanor more than Janna. (I hope I’m spelling that correctly since I listened to the audiobook and didn’t see a print copy.) I found Janna a little aggravating.
To me, the real plus of this novel was the healing of the mother-daughter relationship and how both were challenged to be nicer and more open individuals as well.
July 10, 2013
I am giving this book two stars--it was ok. I can't say that I liked it.
As I read through the other reviews given of this book, I feel like I am in the minority. I do have to add that normally I enjoy Christian fiction, but it seems like the spiritual lessons were overdone and I feel that the impact of these lessons could have been greater with more subtleness.
I do applaud the author for tackling tough issues and using Christian teachings to give us hope.
As I read through the other reviews given of this book, I feel like I am in the minority. I do have to add that normally I enjoy Christian fiction, but it seems like the spiritual lessons were overdone and I feel that the impact of these lessons could have been greater with more subtleness.
I do applaud the author for tackling tough issues and using Christian teachings to give us hope.
January 15, 2011
THis book had a very interesting and novel plot. Jana's mother's is what compelled me to continue reading this book.
However, for me, there became a point at which I found that too many things had happened to one charachter to be believable. I also really had trouble with some of the reactions or lack there of, of the aunt.
At the end of the book, I got so tired of the preachy feel of the novel that I did not feel it was really worth finishing. There has to be a way to make a point in a novel without forcing one's pespective down the throat of the reader!
If someone had told Eleanor's story without all of the heavy handed preachy feel, I would have liked this book.
There is also a place in here when Jana has to face a truly vile person from her past and I am just sorry, I do not believe that the situation would have resolved itself the way that it did here, pardon me but I rolled my eyes sooooo many times while reading certain portions of this book I don't know why I don't have a headache.
I began this book really interested in what the author had to say, by the end I no longer cared and did not believe ANY of her charachters.
However, for me, there became a point at which I found that too many things had happened to one charachter to be believable. I also really had trouble with some of the reactions or lack there of, of the aunt.
At the end of the book, I got so tired of the preachy feel of the novel that I did not feel it was really worth finishing. There has to be a way to make a point in a novel without forcing one's pespective down the throat of the reader!
If someone had told Eleanor's story without all of the heavy handed preachy feel, I would have liked this book.
There is also a place in here when Jana has to face a truly vile person from her past and I am just sorry, I do not believe that the situation would have resolved itself the way that it did here, pardon me but I rolled my eyes sooooo many times while reading certain portions of this book I don't know why I don't have a headache.
I began this book really interested in what the author had to say, by the end I no longer cared and did not believe ANY of her charachters.
June 28, 2021
It was a very heartfelt, detailed, dramatic, and deep novel. Forgiveness is important, more important than we’d think. It closed with a great ending!
September 26, 2023
In Tracie Peterson’s novel, What She Left for Me, Jana McGuire is a pastor’s wife who just returned home to Spokane from a three-week missions trip to Africa. Puzzled that no one was at the airport to meet her, she hails a cab and arrives at home to a note on the table. Her husband wrote that he left her for his church secretary and wanted a divorce. Jana saw that he also took anything of value in the house, including her jewelry. At the bank the next day, Jana discovers her savings and checking accounts have been cleaned out, leaving her only $10.
Jana’s husband, Rob, told the deacon board at church two weeks previously that he was resigning because Jana wanted out of the marriage. The church searched for an interim pastor and found one, who was moving into the parsonage that weekend. Therefore Jana needed to move out of her home immediately. When Jana explained her circumstances, the men were more sympathetic. But by that time, the interim pastor was still coming, and Jana still needed to leave.
With no home or money, and finding out she is pregnant, Jana has only one choice. She has to call her mother, with whom she was not close: the mother who kept her at arm’s length all her life, wished she was a boy, sent her to boarding schools, and said she wished she had aborted Jana.
Jana’s mother, Eleanor, had moved to Montana to stay with her octogenarian Aunt Taffy. Eleanor doesn’t want Jana to come, but Taffy is thrilled.
As expected, arguments erupt between Jana and her mother frequently while Taffy tries to be a peacemaker. Jana questions her mother about her upbringing in an effort to understand her better, but her mother shuts down any discussion of her past.
Yet Jana’s presence cause Eleanor’s painful memories to resurface, told to the reader in flashbacks. Eleanor had coped by shutting down all past memories and refusing to be vulnerable or close to anyone.
And Jana, in her pain and bitterness, is beginning to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
Tracie includes a note at the beginning of her book forewarning readers that the book will deal with adultery and child abuse. Tracie avoids graphic details, but she wanted to write the book because, at that time (2005), one in four girls were molested before the age of eighteen. She wanted to help readers understand what people in these circumstances go through and encourage reaching out and offering love and help.
I felt Tracie achieved her goal. But I felt she could have done so a little more efficiently. There’s a lot of repetition of certain points in the book. It’s understandable that in real life, people will bring up the same points while arguing, or people processing situations will cover the same ground repeatedly. But fiction is usually a little more streamlined and progresses more logically from point to point.
Plus, a plot device of someone walking in unheard at a vital point in a conversation was used more than once, when once was enough.
But overall, I felt the book did a good job showing what people in Eleanor’s and Jana’s circumstances go through and answering common questions and feelings, like “What did I do wrong to deserve this?” and “Why didn’t God stop this from happening?” Though the subject matter is difficult, it’s also far too common. I applaud Tracy for writing about it.
Jana’s husband, Rob, told the deacon board at church two weeks previously that he was resigning because Jana wanted out of the marriage. The church searched for an interim pastor and found one, who was moving into the parsonage that weekend. Therefore Jana needed to move out of her home immediately. When Jana explained her circumstances, the men were more sympathetic. But by that time, the interim pastor was still coming, and Jana still needed to leave.
With no home or money, and finding out she is pregnant, Jana has only one choice. She has to call her mother, with whom she was not close: the mother who kept her at arm’s length all her life, wished she was a boy, sent her to boarding schools, and said she wished she had aborted Jana.
Jana’s mother, Eleanor, had moved to Montana to stay with her octogenarian Aunt Taffy. Eleanor doesn’t want Jana to come, but Taffy is thrilled.
As expected, arguments erupt between Jana and her mother frequently while Taffy tries to be a peacemaker. Jana questions her mother about her upbringing in an effort to understand her better, but her mother shuts down any discussion of her past.
Yet Jana’s presence cause Eleanor’s painful memories to resurface, told to the reader in flashbacks. Eleanor had coped by shutting down all past memories and refusing to be vulnerable or close to anyone.
And Jana, in her pain and bitterness, is beginning to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
Tracie includes a note at the beginning of her book forewarning readers that the book will deal with adultery and child abuse. Tracie avoids graphic details, but she wanted to write the book because, at that time (2005), one in four girls were molested before the age of eighteen. She wanted to help readers understand what people in these circumstances go through and encourage reaching out and offering love and help.
I felt Tracie achieved her goal. But I felt she could have done so a little more efficiently. There’s a lot of repetition of certain points in the book. It’s understandable that in real life, people will bring up the same points while arguing, or people processing situations will cover the same ground repeatedly. But fiction is usually a little more streamlined and progresses more logically from point to point.
Plus, a plot device of someone walking in unheard at a vital point in a conversation was used more than once, when once was enough.
But overall, I felt the book did a good job showing what people in Eleanor’s and Jana’s circumstances go through and answering common questions and feelings, like “What did I do wrong to deserve this?” and “Why didn’t God stop this from happening?” Though the subject matter is difficult, it’s also far too common. I applaud Tracy for writing about it.
March 15, 2018
This novel contains some tough subject matter but it was handled well. I enjoy what is sometimes called "gritty" or "edgy" Christian fiction. It goes into deeper, realistic situations. This story touches on some serious issues but doesn't get into graphic detail. You know what is happening without getting too much info.
This is a difficult read due to the subject matter but the author does an excellent job of showing the hope and love that Christ gives to those who believe. I was impressed by how the story plays out.
It really opened my eyes to how something tragic and painful can lead to guilt and emotions I hadn't thought possible.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who has suffered from abuse, especially that of a sexual nature. It shows so much hope and forgiveness.
This is a difficult read due to the subject matter but the author does an excellent job of showing the hope and love that Christ gives to those who believe. I was impressed by how the story plays out.
It really opened my eyes to how something tragic and painful can lead to guilt and emotions I hadn't thought possible.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who has suffered from abuse, especially that of a sexual nature. It shows so much hope and forgiveness.
February 20, 2017
What a book. From the worst possible situation to the very best outcome. If you do not believe in the power of God you are missing out. Without preaching or forcing the Word of God upon you this book shows you how having faith in God can make our life better.
Jana feels like her life is over when her husband leaves her unexpectedly and then she also finds out that she is pregnant. Having to make some serious life changes Jana gets to experience the love of her family and the people around her.
This is a wonderful book with some bad situations that happen all the time. With the bad it shows you that there is also good in the world.
Jana feels like her life is over when her husband leaves her unexpectedly and then she also finds out that she is pregnant. Having to make some serious life changes Jana gets to experience the love of her family and the people around her.
This is a wonderful book with some bad situations that happen all the time. With the bad it shows you that there is also good in the world.
March 7, 2018
Three generations of women are brought together when the youngest one's husband walks out on her and she discovers she is pregnant at the same time. The women are an aunt/great aunt, mother, and daughter. As the book unfolds, so do the stories of unfaithfulness, abuse, rape, and abandonment. One of the women has found joy while one has turned bitter.
The story is good, but the flashbacks were a little hard to follow sometimes. Also, the writing seemed very stilted at times. It was encouraging to see how God works through our difficulties, but since the book was awkward to read I didn't love it.
The story is good, but the flashbacks were a little hard to follow sometimes. Also, the writing seemed very stilted at times. It was encouraging to see how God works through our difficulties, but since the book was awkward to read I didn't love it.
December 31, 2018
I don’t recall encountering those same words of the title in the novel anywhere. I don’t know what it means exactly. It’s a bit ambiguous, and maybe that is what the author wants. Enjoyed reading. Infidelity, incest and the hippie culture are all dealt with deftly and handled with discretion. This is NOT a graphic novel. Very well written and presents salvation in Christ as the only hope in our flawed human lives. Probably not a book for teens, but I would highly recommend it for adults. As always for Tracie Peterson books, no cursing or vulgar language.
April 7, 2023
Jenna is a Pastor's wife and is away on a mission trip to Africa. Her husband does not show up at the airport to pick her up. Rob has decided to leave the church and his wife to be with his secretary. His secretary is married to Jason and Jason is not happy about the situation. Jenna's mom and her are estranged, but Jenna has to rely on her and her Aunt Taffy to help her as she has to leave the parsonage. So many difficult subjects are presented in this book, but with grace and in a sweet way.
March 28, 2020
Lots of real feelings
In recently going through an unwanted divorce, the feelings Jana has of confusion and betrayal toward her husband and God spoke deeply to me. The ripple effects of others choices can cause deep pain. I liked this book because it wasn’t afraid to say hard things out loud. I hope someday I can find the peace the characters did.
In recently going through an unwanted divorce, the feelings Jana has of confusion and betrayal toward her husband and God spoke deeply to me. The ripple effects of others choices can cause deep pain. I liked this book because it wasn’t afraid to say hard things out loud. I hope someday I can find the peace the characters did.
June 13, 2020
3.5 rounded up. Painful subjects discussed in a 3 generational story of family secrets, abuse, forgiveness, God's love, adultery, and how to survive & thrive in the trials of life. I liked ideas of confronting things that happen openly and with God's help, the freedom forgiveness gives, rippling consequences of someone's behavior, etc.
May 18, 2022
Twists and turns but all about forgiveness, learning to love and trust. ..."I'm here as living proof to tell you that God is bigger than our pain and sorrows. He's bigger than our guilt. He is able to take anything we give Him and turn it around for good." Heartaches that all three women endured in the end made them stronger through their faith in Jesus.
December 9, 2022
It has been a while since I read a novel- so it was hard for me at first to get into it. What a world of hurt. Yet, I am thankful through all the tragedy the author brings truth on what forgiveness is. It was sad book but a good book on God’s redemptive hand. Now I am curious to read some of her other works. Very well done.
July 25, 2018
One reason why I enjoyed this book was that Peterson was not afraid to take such difficult life circumstances and topics and show that even in some of the worst scenarios we can trust God, and He has the power to redeem.
November 15, 2019
A Slender Thread
I really enjoyed the journey back to God for Eleanor and Jana. I’d like to think that Eleanor was able to find her brothers. But even if she didn’t, she had her family.
I really enjoyed the journey back to God for Eleanor and Jana. I’d like to think that Eleanor was able to find her brothers. But even if she didn’t, she had her family.
June 15, 2021
Another great read by this author! I love that she talks about God in her books. This is a beautiful story about forgiveness and love. I love the change that happens with Eleanor and Jana and the way they change to let each other into their lives. Very good read!
June 9, 2022
wonderful story
This wonderful story leaves to go to the lives of for women. They’re heartaches enjoys are easy to relate to. The writing is fluid and easy to read. While I was certain how the book with end, enjoy the journey getting there.
This wonderful story leaves to go to the lives of for women. They’re heartaches enjoys are easy to relate to. The writing is fluid and easy to read. While I was certain how the book with end, enjoy the journey getting there.
July 29, 2025
A bit of a storyline twist in this one. Sometimes I really wonder where the authors came up with ideas for their book! A little slow building romance, a bit of God/religion, more on dysfunctional mother/daughter relationships and how they were worked out as adults.
January 9, 2018
How should we respond when bad things happen to good people? The author attempts an answer in this engaging story.
March 21, 2018
A really good story with religious overtones. While sometimes the "preaching" got a bit much, but overall I liked the story itself and the healing of the mother/daughter relationship.
March 30, 2018
This is perhaps the best written work of the author. Very realistic and multi layered.
October 3, 2018
Good story, great characters, but so many questions left unanswered. Hopefully there will be a sequel to wrap up the story.
August 18, 2019
This is the first book that I have read by this author. It will definitely not be my last...I'm getting ready to find another book by her.
April 25, 2020
A great story of redemption and healing!
September 18, 2020
A wife gets left by her husband. He leaves her for his secretary.
July 19, 2021
The subject matter is tough and it deals with a lot of disappointment and anger in relationships. I kept anticipating the outcome and wasn’t disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews