The Department of Lost & Found

by Allison Winn Scotch

In this hopeful, humorous, and astonishingly deft debut, Allison Winn Scotch explores what happens when a young woman thinks she's lost everything that matters' and ends up discovering what's truly important. This is a novel that will leave you taking stock of what's important in your own life . . . and never letting it go.

It didn't start out as the worst day of Natalie Miller's life. At 30, she is moving up the political ladder, driven by raw ambition and ruthless determination. As the top aide to New York's powerful female senator, she works hard, stays late, and enjoys every bit of it, even if the bills she's pushing through do little to improve the lives of the senator's constituents. And if her boyfriend isn't the sexiest guy alive, at least he's a warm body to come home to.

Then he announces he's leaving. But that news is barely a blip compared to what Natalie's doctor tells her: She has breast cancer. And she can't cure it by merely being headstrong. Now the life Natalie must change is her own.

All her energy, what little of it she has left, must go into saving herself from a merciless disease. So when she's not lying on the sofa recovering from her treatments and indulging in a curious addiction to The Price Is Right, she realizes it's time to take a hard look at her choices. She begins by tracking down the five loves-of-her-life to assess what went wrong. Along the way, she questions her relationships with her friends, her parents, her colleagues, the one who got away, and, most important, with herself: Why is she so busy moving through life that she never stops to embrace it?

As Natalie sleuths out the answers to these questions, her journey of self-discovery takes her down new paths and to unexplored places. And she learns that sometimes when life is at its most unexpected, it's not what you lose that makes you who you are . . . it's what you find.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, Contemporary, Womens Fiction, New York, Friendship

339 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

I'm the bestselling author of eight novels including, CLEO MCDOUGAL REGRETS NOTHING, IN TWENTY YEARS and TIME OF MY LIFE, currently in development at Sony. My latest book, THE REWIND, will be released in Nov 2022 by Berkley Books.

As an author, I know how brutal reviews can be, so I'll only post about books I've enjoyed. (Just in case you're wondering why all of my reviews are positive!)

Reviews

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really upset me, but not at all in the way most of those who wrote reviews here were upset by the book.

What upset me was the attitude of 'entitlement' that permeates the entire book. The idea that someone who has an almost perfect life for 30 years, but who then has it a little bit tough for a short period of time is hard done by... just left me really shocked.

It made me wonder if the author has any idea that for a huge percentage of the world's population...well, they would give anything to have had 30 years of such a perfect life; wonderful education, beauty, intelligence, caring family and friends, born into a wealthy country, basic safety and security, a job that pays well and is respected.....

Even with what happened to her, she is still, what, better off and far more lucky than probably 80 - 90% of people around the world!? (She would STILL be one of the luckiest people I know!)

The assumption underlying this book seemed to be that 'rich upper-middle class Americans' (and maybe rich people from other countries??) are owed a perfect life and have a right to feel very hard done by if anything bad ever happens to them.

Was it just me, but was Nat's journey through cancer...ummm, not very brave or amazing at all? I thought she was really selfish and negative and well, it was all very average. Sure she could have coped with it worse, but there was nothing at all remarkable with what she did either. (She was very hard to like I thought, she didn't cope at all well or remarkably.)

There was just no sense of gratitude at ALL for what she has already been given that I could see. That seemed to be what she saw as just her due, never mind that the vast majority of people are nowhere near so lucky. Never mind that some people are far far more ill and that this illness lasts for DECADES at a time.....

I did cry in this book.... I cried with envy at what she could still do and how not-ill she was at the worst of her illness. Like many people with serious chronic illnesses, I would give anything to have even a day being only as 'ill' as she was... On one of her worst days, (which was meant to make you feel so sorry for her) she made some phone calls and left the house.....

Many of us can only DREAM of such luxuries, and it has been YEARS since we experienced them... Many of us could only dream too of getting even 10% of the quality of medical care and support from friends and family she received or being 10% as able to do things as she was. (Sure she has a 50% chance of death, but she also had a 50% chance of having a perfectly normal life! Something many of us have no chance of at all.)

I cried when she was so mad she had to use a wheelchair for a few days too when so many people I know are bedbound/housebound and far too ill to use a wheelchair, but would give anything to HAVE even a few days in one... to leave the house even occasionally.. to see a doctor even occasionally...

I think Nat was lucky. Not brave, not hard done by, not amazing, not at all inspirational, but very, very LUCKY. I wonder does the author know what is happening in the world today? That not everyone in the world is living such a charmed and perfect existence as the wealthy and privelleged characters in this book. If so, why is there not even a short acknowledgement of this? The book seems to assume we are all living such charmed lives... I found this quite offensive and...ignorant.

Yes, not everyone is in my situation... but so many people are dealing with all sort of horrible things all their lives; kids with serious disabilites that they have to care for for decades, being subject to severe abuse and neglect in childhood, having a severe mental illness, having your life put at risk for being gay in the wrong country, living in extreme poverty and fearing your children will die every day, and so on and so on. All much worse than this mild but scary illness...and a charmed first 30 years of life!

If you have had any real problems in life or have a serious chronic illness, do not buy this book, it will likely only upset you as it did me. The writing was fine, quite good even, but the underlying social attitudes etc. left a lot to be desired. Perhaps her future books will be better though!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbeknownst to me....Somehow I always end up reading books about women with Breast Cancer...which is kinda weird since my mom passed away from breast cancer. Happiness to anguish, suffering to rejoicing, this book has it all. I kept reading hoping that she would beat the odds and not end up a statistic like my mom. It made my heart happy to hear that she was triumphant.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I might have liked this book better if I had read it when it was new, but now it feels pretty dated, both in specific mentions (everyone has a BlackBerry and nobody texts--they email) and in attitude. Very readable, although I really didn't care much for the protagonist. Then again, she's pretty standard for this era of chick lit (and more likable than a lot of them), and I can definitely see how the author has grown such a devoted community over the years.

[J&B Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book.

When I first began this book I found it very hard to read. I'm a breast cancer survivor myself and although it's been a little over twenty years it still hit very close to home. In fact I had to remind myself that it wasn't happening to me all over again, it was happening to Natalie.

I also didn't really like Natalie all that much in the beginning but I suspect I wasn't supposed to. Cancer is a life changing journey and I found Natalie's evolution to be realistic. It wasn't long before I was routing for her and by the end of the book I had become genuinely fond of who she had become.

I highly recommend this book. In spite of the subject matter it is in no way a depressing read. Rather it is the funny, thoughtful and somewhat philosophical story of a cancer patient who realizes that she alone is responsible for making her own good fortune. That's uplifting, not depressing.

[Keris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since I heard about Allison Winn Scotch's debut novel, The Department of Lost and Found, I've been looking forward to reading it. It's about Natalie Miller, political assistant to the senator of New York (shades of Hillary Clinton!) who's a total workaholic. Then one day her boyfriend Ned discovers a lump in her breast and... I'm trying not to use a cliche like 'her whole world turns upside down' but honestly, her whole world does go A over T.

Not only does Ned pick the time immediately post-diagnosis to confess he's been planning on leaving her for another woman, but coping with chemo knocks Natalie for six, and her relationships with those closest to her start to change, too. It's scary stuff.

To read the rest of the review, please visit Trashionista

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I appreciate the author's attempt at melding a chick lit scenario with the harsh realities of coping with cancer, I wasn't charmed enough by the heroine to invest her recovery or indeed her journey. I felt that the author had stretched my sympathies too far asking me to care about her recovery, her relationship with her mother, her devotion to her career, as well as the men she found her self drawn back to. I abhor that all female writers of a certain age are classified as chick lit, and wanted this book to be different. More on a commentary of the harsh realities of a young woman coping with the realities going through recovery on her own, versus trying to find meaning in her life by digging through her little black book and obsessing over her ob/gyn or her exboyfriend.

[Camie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Natalie Miller an ambitious thirty year old NewYorker is ruthlessly moving up the political career ladder as a senator's primary aide when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. I side with the reviewers who didn't care much for this book which tries to combine Chick Lit with personal tragedy. The main character is difficult to like, even as she is soul searching and trying to reconnect with past failed relationships. I think the author was going for a character with an upbeat attitude even though faced with a serious illness, but somehow chemotherapy and shopping at Bloomingdales ( only the BEST for her) just didn't work. I had a tough time, both caring about snooty Natalie and finishing this book. That said, I think my daughters (about her same age ) may like it . 2 stars

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put this book on reserve at the library many weeks ago. Last week I received word from a friend and former co-worker that she has stage 3 breast cancer. The protagonist in this book has stage 3 breast cancer. From the fresh wound of knowing that my 44 year old friend is facing the greatest battle of her life--this book hit me hard. What a "timely" read for me. I felt that the story was very realistic as to what a person goes through when facing the diagnosis of cancer. It is very well written and an excellent read.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book on my shelf for a while now and finally picked it up. Just after starting it, I had a friend die from cancer. I wasn't sure I would be able to finish the book since it also deals with cancer.

I can say that reading this book came at a perfect time for me. It really helped me put my friend's life and death into perspective. The story was wonderfully written. I loved every word of this book!!

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and I like the way this author writes. From the blurb on the jacket I knew it wasn’t going to be a deep read about having cancer. It is just a story…sometimes funny, sometimes sad…about a gal who has cancer and what she does to get through the treatments and still live her life. I didn’t realize until I finished this book, that this same author had written another favorite book of mine…Cleo McDougal regrets nothing. Both books have flawed protagonist who make mistakes, muddle through things, but in the end they are trying to be good people.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - easy, quick read, and I could relate on many levels with the main character. A solid chick lit/overcoming odds story.

[Regina · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I wanted this book not to be chick lit, I think I do have to classify it as exactly that. Which is very disappointing, really. (Not to say that chick lit is bad, it's just that this would've been so much better if it wasn't.)
What makes this chick lit, you ask? Well, Natalie is battling with cancer, so we've already got a major page-turning plot here. But then, Scotch throws more elements into the mix! Which is great! But not when she throws in too many elements such as - Natalie's struggling relationship with her mother, her intense job and devotion to working, her best friend's wedding and her part in that.... Which is all fine.
BUT THEN this is what really gets me: Natalie is given a diary from her therapist to help her resolve issues during chemo. Instead of dealing with other problems in her already hectic life, Natalie chooses to pursue her old boyfriends in order to figure out "what went wrong". And in all honesty, isn't that just a whole chick lit plot by itself? It wasn't necessary.
Still, it could've worked. Except at the point when Natalie makes one of the best decisions she's made throughout the entire book, a lovely lovely climax... The book continues on. Scotch makes a huge mistake, as instead of leaving well enough alone, she chooses to try and wrap everything up when it really didn't need to be done.
And yet, her ultimate undoing is how selfish Natalie comes across as. You can't help but feel sorry for her, due to her illness, but she is just... Extremely fortunate throughout the entire novel, and her whole attitude of ungratefulness for her wonderful friends, and entirely too-perfect life, often made me wonder if she deserved my pity at all.
Anyway. With its boy-centered plot and only-somewhat-loveable protagonist, the interspersed philosophies Natalie discovers during her chemo treatment only slightly make up for it. But all in all, it's quite a nice change from regular chick lit, but chick lit it is all the same. Read it though; you might find it's exactly what you've been looking for.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I knew of the author Allison Winn Scotch, but I'd never read anything by her. The subject of the book is heavier for sure, but the story pulls you in, and you feel the highs with Natalie, and the lows.

I'm learning to appreciate more and more as a reader, especially the perspective it provides. For awhile you get to be an observer of another life - you can sometimes anticipate things they cannot. This is what I found during this story. I could see where there the story was going - not because it was predictable - but because it was how I wanted it to end up, and at times when Natalie would do things I would get frustrated, saying "Don't you see he is not right for you?" or "Why are you being so stubborn?"

This book was full of some amazing one-liners - just thoughts or musings that stuck with me after I finished reading it. (I read this on my kindle, so again, not totally sure of exact page locations!)

"So I sat in his office, and I tasted the horror that comes from discovering you're not invincible..."

"I'd read once that brave men aren't those who never sense fear. The brave men are the ones who sense fear and keep walking toward it. I wondered if it counted if you didn't have a choice in the first place."

"You don't what you're capable of surviving until you're forced to survive it."

I know this story was about a woman with cancer but even though I've never been in that situation, I could completely relate to the character.

It wasn't all doom and gloom either - there were plenty of times when I was laughing, and there were even times when I was surprised by a turn in the story.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the book - not surprisingly it's about my favorite season.

"October had set in, and it has always been my favorite month: the one where the air still captured the warmth of the previous season but also hung with the promise of the fall chill."

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this 3.0 stars. While I did not always like Natalie, I did sympathize with what she was going through during chemo and the book kept me reading. I loved the message about how cancer changes you and how you look at life. Unfortunately, Natalie was still too conscious of the price of things and it fell a little flat for me. Author has other better books.

[Catherine McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This potential difficult subject is treated gently and with grace. Allison always finds a way to take a situation you think you know and give it enough of a twist to keep you interested. This book is no exception.

[Dianna Shimizu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! It's about a 30 year old woman diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, and how her life changes during the year that the story takes place. You really get involved with the main character and root for her to overcome all of her problems.

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Natalie has cancer at age 30. As she casts about she figures out what's really important. Natalie feels the loss of her job/inability to work the most and I appreciated that. This was a slow stater for me but I enjoyed seeing Natalie's life evolve.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Department of Lost and Found just came out in paperback! Yay!

[Brandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Inspiring and uplifting.

[Ziyy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow, I just can relate with breast cancer setting.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I finally caught my breath and asked him why he thought that, why he thought that anyone would possibly choose not to be loved, because certainly, that wasn't my intention."

I really wanted to like this book because I'd heard such good things, but it didn't hit the mark for me. It's not exactly a "feel-good" story, and not really an underdog story, and sort of veers into the romantic.

I think my biggest problem with this book is it's so ambitious. There seem to be three different plots happening that weave into the story. We have Natalie's relationship with her job, Natalie's cancer treatment, and Natalie's decision to contact old boyfriends to find out why they broke up. The third plot seems to overshadow the other two quickly and Natalie's relationship with her job fizzling out happened so quickly it felt like a forced what to wrap it up. Yes, we see Natalie change throughout her treatment (albeit sporadically), but for her to go from a prominent Senator's right-hand woman to telling her she should make different choices was a change that felt unexpected given how Natalie had previously loved her job. About halfway through I felt like I knew how the book would end and that was a bummer. I also didn't love the journal format of the story and how we were being filled in on Natalie's life.

There are some interesting realizations about relationships with other people and self-discovery, but overall I didn't love the book.

[Sharon Leff · Rating 4 out of 5]

When over achiever, academic legal class scholar Natalie Miller finds “her” senator, the one who shares her beliefs and purposes, she commits fully working on her campaigns and serving on her staff throughout her senate position, ever preparing for a presidential race. Having hitched her future to the senator’s star, Natalie has risen professionally, sacrificing everything to do so. Not until she learns that she has stage 3 breast cancer does she awaken to the conditions of her life that have become ever more traumatic when her boyfriend abandons her after her diagnosis leaving Natalie to navigate chemo, radiation, surgery, and subsequent radiation on her own.

And along the way, Natalie discovers as she preserves she has more friends than she had known, that she had an equal blame in each of failed relationship. Had she not invested in a diary and a purpose of soul searching to occupy her focus while enduring chemo, she might never have begun her self-exploration that forced her to contact each of her former boyfriends. But as she journeys back in time, she processes her own evolution as a daughter, friend, scholar, lawyer, feminist, and survivor.

Enjoyable and thoughtfully provoking examination developed through an admirable if flawed, human soul.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all this book did not move me much. It was kind of life Lifetime movie meets Sex in the City. That is not to say I did not empathize with Natalie and her shock at finding out she had stage 3 breast cancer. But are we supposed to care what brand of shoes she wears ? It seems that Nat and her friends can not function away from the world of the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I w ould call this book vapid. I think I would call Nat and her friends pretty self absorbed about every strand of their hair and whether they have a man on their arm. Pretty desperate stuff. And pretty out of touch with how most women live their lives. Much less women fighting cancer.
Everything is just too pat. And that includes the ending. Glad Nat went into remission but who cares about whether she and Zach go to Fiji. I just see it as vapid. I read it on a recommendation but none of the characters seemed very substantial to me. I dont think I would like to have a relationship with any of the people in this book. I am glad I just got it from the library and did not waste my money or the space in my bookcases on this book. It is not a keeper.

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave this one star simply because I think it is quite an accomplishment to be in the running for my worst book of 2026 in January.
Replete with errors and timelines that don't match up, this story has the added bonus of being so predictable the reader can skip from first page to last without missing much. Add to that the eye-rolling amount of designer shoe brands mentioned for absolutely no reason at all, I am shocked I finished it.
Protagonist Natalie is only 30 and has breast cancer. Like all of us who have gone through cancer, her doctors share updates on her progress with everyone and bring her snacks (SARCASM) . She is in a high powered political job but (oh my god, who would have guessed) cancer causes her to rethink all of her life goals. The book sells itself as her journey in deep introspection going over past relationships. If only the past relationships got as much attention as the designer shoes....
Hilariously, every time she goes to the doctor and receives and update, all of the contiguous United States is also updated on her latest news. She can be coming out of the doctor's office learning that her chemo is going well and dial a friend and they will already know! Because that is how medicine works.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this debut novel from Allison Winn Scotch. I thought it had a lot of heart and courage.

Natalie Miller has always been a mover and a shaker. At the age of 30, the aspiring future president has already completed law school and worked her way up to be the chief aide to a prominent New York senator. Recently, though, Natalie has found something she can neither move nor shake. Her boyfriend found a lump in her breast and the doctor says it's cancer. Stage 4 with a 50/50 survival rate.
Natalie must now focus her energies not on thriving, but on surviving. As the chemo begins to heal her body, she also tries to heal her life. Natalie seeks out her past boyfriends to try and figure out why she has never had a relationship that worked. She also reconsiders her work commitments and her relationships with friends and family.

Natalie finds a way not just to heal her body, but to heal her soul and lead a brand new life. I highly recommend this novel.

[Ivy Kaprow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book because I saw a Bookstagram friend rave about other books by this author. The only book by Allison Winn Scotch that was available via Overdrive was this one and I definitely wasn’t a fan. I found the storyline to be promising, but the book was extremely predictable and I didn’t like the protagonist. While it wasn’t poorly written, I felt like it could have been better. There are several diary entries included which I didn’t care for, and at the same time parts of the book that weren’t part of the diary were written as though they should have been diary entries (ie: “I’ll spare you the details…”). I will definitely try the other books my friend recommended, though, because I have a great amount of respect for her and her opinions on books, and I firmly believe every author of multiple books will have at least one someone will find to be a dud.

[MaryAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to read reviews of this book by other readers...yes she had a privileged life up to her cancer diagnosis and yes she survived a stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis. And yes she was a pretty selfish driven person.

But I liked how her diagnosis and treatment slowly had her reevaluate her life and her relationships. And I liked how the author wrote this book after a close friend who did not survive as a way of working through grief and as a tribute to her friend.

This was classic women's lit. There were messy relationships, best friends, introspection by the main character. And I loved how The Price is Right and Bob Barker played a role in the story.

A story that is challenging at times but ends up with an HEA.

[Katherine Nally · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character gets breast cancer which derails her fast and successful life. Her boyfriend breaks up with her, and she decides to hunt down all 5 lost loves to try to figure out what went wrong with them.

This book is really mostly about her work and friendships, with just a side of romance. She gets back together with The One That Got Away, but they have the same relational problems as before. She beats cancer and gets together with the male doctor she's been flirting with the entire time.

[Kc1morepage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natalie is a very successful 30-something. She works for an up-and-coming senator and lives her life in constant motion to reach her ultimate goal—to one day be the president of the United States.
Natalie is pretty sure she is happy,
until she gets knocked on her back by a cancer diagnosis and she begins to question her priorities.

Allison Winn Scotch manages to write characters that are instantly understandable and relatable—even when they are being asses. He writing style instantly engages the reader and brings you into the world of the story.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the first part of the book especially ; sometimes funny
About a young woman running a successful career who gets breast cancer and how she lives through it ;
Insightful about what one is worth, finding/discovering oneself, overcoming terrible times and finding out what helps you carry on

Second part gets more boring, as too centered on "am I in love ?" and broken trust with best friend is dealt with at very superficial level - then becomes too predictable