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When You Go Away
From the acclaimed author of The Matter of Grace and Her Daughter's Eyes-a novel about a mother of three who, abandoned by her husband, tries to run from her problems.. But when she returns, it's only the beginning of her family's journey.
- GenresFiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2003
About the author
Jessica Barksdale Inclán
49 books460 followersJessica Barksdale Inclán's sixteenth novel, What the Moon Did, and her first short story collection, Trick of the Porch Light, were published in 2023. Her novels include Her Daughter’s Eyes, The Play's the Thing, and The Burning Hour.
A Pushcart Prize and Best-of-the-Net nominee, her short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in or are forthcoming in the The Sun, Salt Hill Journal, Tahoma Review, and So to Speak. Her work has been recognized and honored by The Sewanee Review, The Wigleaf, The North American Review, and The Ocotillo Review
She taught composition, literature, and creative writing at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California and continues to teach novel writing online for UCLA Extension and in the online MFA program for Southern New Hampshire University.
She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband.
For more information, go to: http://www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com
A Pushcart Prize and Best-of-the-Net nominee, her short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in or are forthcoming in the The Sun, Salt Hill Journal, Tahoma Review, and So to Speak. Her work has been recognized and honored by The Sewanee Review, The Wigleaf, The North American Review, and The Ocotillo Review
She taught composition, literature, and creative writing at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California and continues to teach novel writing online for UCLA Extension and in the online MFA program for Southern New Hampshire University.
She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband.
For more information, go to: http://www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 20, 2022
My reading mojo has been missing for awhile, but this quick read had me determined to see how this painful but understandable family drama was resolved. As a mother, I had a great deal of empathy for these characters…and as an older woman, I have learned that we can never predict where our breaking point is as we deal with what life hands us…and most importantly to withhold judgement of another’s life. This is more a 3.5 for me.
September 24, 2012
I was sent this book and one other by the author (signed) after I won an ACR of her finale of the Beautiful Beings trilogy.
It's possible that I didn't like this book because I'm not a mother. But even so, I found myself appalled -- besides the fact that this is (apparently) a jarring true story -- that a woman would simply abandon her three children, one of which suffers from a degenerative muscular disorder, after a breakdown.
Besides the content and plot of the book, I couldn't get into the writing. Far too quickly written to really get to know the characters and just all around not appealing for my taste. Not my cup of tea.
It's possible that I didn't like this book because I'm not a mother. But even so, I found myself appalled -- besides the fact that this is (apparently) a jarring true story -- that a woman would simply abandon her three children, one of which suffers from a degenerative muscular disorder, after a breakdown.
Besides the content and plot of the book, I couldn't get into the writing. Far too quickly written to really get to know the characters and just all around not appealing for my taste. Not my cup of tea.
June 7, 2008
This book was kind of lame and pretty much went on and on and on. I felt like it had an overall sympathy for the wrong person, but alas, it ended up being just like the story in real life would've been. In other words, it was really uneventful.
March 27, 2010
This is an easy read. It speaks of a mother who abandons her children after a divorce and caring for 3 kids--including one with severe disabilities--as a result of depression with a psychotic break. Severeral intriguing issues but the author doesn't explore them in enough depth for my taste.
September 9, 2024
Bought this as a blind book at 2nd and Charles - read through on vacation and left with my SIL to read next! Quick read, sad truth about something that could (and probably does) happen when mental health isn’t prioritized or cared about by friends/family.
January 25, 2017
The book was a fast read, it kept my interest and I wanted to see how it all ended. There were several intriguing issues but I would have liked the author to explore them more.
May 16, 2018
What an intense novel. And I thought I knew how it would end, but I was happily wrong. A good solid story that I could not put down.
July 27, 2023
This was a very disappointing read.
March 17, 2025
Nice story about a woman with mental illness who was abandoned by her husband
July 25, 2013
I find this book somewhat difficult to review. First of all, I would like to congratulate the author on her ability to bring to light emotional family issues that rarely see the fiction department and for doing such a good job of making them prominent in her story lines.
That being said, this is a good book, but in my estimation, not the most enjoyable one in terms of relaxing enjoyment to be had with a novel. Is it possible for fiction to borderline on being too real? I would have to say yes.
Whereas much of the time I find it irksome that many fictional novels do not even come close to following the truth, this one was perhaps a bit closer to reality than I would have expected. Watching the turmoil of this family from a reader's helpless perspective was a hard thing to do. You want to hug the children, strangle the mother and clean up the mess before the end of the book, but there is naught that you can do but watch it unfold.
I felt the author was very sympathetic toward the issues of the mother, and I could not be quite as kind. I just did not like her. I thought she was selfish and should have been handled in a different matter, but perhaps that is largely because I am a mother as well.
I would recommend this book to those who are not looking for a fun easy read, but rather those who like a more serious, yet well written story. It is a book that you will not soon forget after reading, for better or worse.
That being said, this is a good book, but in my estimation, not the most enjoyable one in terms of relaxing enjoyment to be had with a novel. Is it possible for fiction to borderline on being too real? I would have to say yes.
Whereas much of the time I find it irksome that many fictional novels do not even come close to following the truth, this one was perhaps a bit closer to reality than I would have expected. Watching the turmoil of this family from a reader's helpless perspective was a hard thing to do. You want to hug the children, strangle the mother and clean up the mess before the end of the book, but there is naught that you can do but watch it unfold.
I felt the author was very sympathetic toward the issues of the mother, and I could not be quite as kind. I just did not like her. I thought she was selfish and should have been handled in a different matter, but perhaps that is largely because I am a mother as well.
I would recommend this book to those who are not looking for a fun easy read, but rather those who like a more serious, yet well written story. It is a book that you will not soon forget after reading, for better or worse.
May 6, 2016
Again, I chose this book from the Bull Moose fifty cent box. I read the back of the book thinking that it would be an interesting read. It definitely was. I didn't know entirely what to expect when I started this book. The title and summary were kind of vague, but overall I would say that I sort of liked this book. The writing style was a bit confusing, only because it wasn't from someone's point of view. It was almost like an outsider was writing the story. They talked about everyone in the third person. This made it a little bit more difficult to understand the exact emotions of the character, but I was still able to follow it pretty well. The plot of the story was a good one. I would almost call this book a mystery because of the way they leave out Graham (the children's father) for the first half of it. The author leaves the reader always wondering what's going to happen next. Whether it be about Peri's sentencing, Brooke's medical condition, or how Carly and Ryan feel towards their parents. I feel as though there are only a few people I would recommend this book to, only because I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have hoped to.
March 20, 2009
PERSONALLY SIGNED COPY - PERMANENT COLLECTION
"What happens when a mother of three, abandoned by her husband, one day reaches the breaking point and does the unthinkable - simply gets in her car and drives away?
For Peri Mackenzie, that day comes months after her husband leaves, robbing her of all financial and emotional support. Months after she has been caring for her severely disabled daughter and her two teenagers with no help from anyone. While thirteen-year-old Carly does her best to handle laundry and her little sister's complicated medical routine, fifteen-year-old Ryan is too resentful to pretend that things are okay. It is their estranged grandfather, Carl - determined to make up for his own parenting failures in the past - who reaches out in unexpected ways. And it is Peri's return - and her fierce determination to win back the right to be their mother - that begins a healing process through which all their lives are made new."
"What happens when a mother of three, abandoned by her husband, one day reaches the breaking point and does the unthinkable - simply gets in her car and drives away?
For Peri Mackenzie, that day comes months after her husband leaves, robbing her of all financial and emotional support. Months after she has been caring for her severely disabled daughter and her two teenagers with no help from anyone. While thirteen-year-old Carly does her best to handle laundry and her little sister's complicated medical routine, fifteen-year-old Ryan is too resentful to pretend that things are okay. It is their estranged grandfather, Carl - determined to make up for his own parenting failures in the past - who reaches out in unexpected ways. And it is Peri's return - and her fierce determination to win back the right to be their mother - that begins a healing process through which all their lives are made new."
December 29, 2014
This was a difficult book to read, but I just keep thinking about it.
It deals with the fall-out when a young mother gives way to depression after trying to deal with her divorce and caring for her disabled daughter and two young teenagers, all without any financial (or other) support from her ex, or from her own adult family members. The results of her "lost" week are long-standing and difficult, not only for her and her children, but also other for other extended family members on both sides.
The novel ends with a resolution of the issues, but one that left me unsure as to whether or not it was the "best" outcome for all concerned. (Much as often happens in real life.) Strongly crafted treatment of a painful, and, for many, uncomfortable subject matter.
Definitely not a cozy; but recommended.
It deals with the fall-out when a young mother gives way to depression after trying to deal with her divorce and caring for her disabled daughter and two young teenagers, all without any financial (or other) support from her ex, or from her own adult family members. The results of her "lost" week are long-standing and difficult, not only for her and her children, but also other for other extended family members on both sides.
The novel ends with a resolution of the issues, but one that left me unsure as to whether or not it was the "best" outcome for all concerned. (Much as often happens in real life.) Strongly crafted treatment of a painful, and, for many, uncomfortable subject matter.
Definitely not a cozy; but recommended.
March 23, 2009
So, a mother of three decides one day that she just can't take the pressure anymore of caring for her severely handicapped child and instintively knows that if she stays another minute that she will hurt somebody. She realizes this in retrospect but it doesn't make it any easier to try to win her children back when she has to go to court.
It's very sad and truly makes me wonder how someone gets through each day caring for someone that is totally dependent on you for anything, and you know they will always be that way and never improve.
It is based on a true story.
I will read something else by this author as her story is real and heartfelt and she has something to say.
It's very sad and truly makes me wonder how someone gets through each day caring for someone that is totally dependent on you for anything, and you know they will always be that way and never improve.
It is based on a true story.
I will read something else by this author as her story is real and heartfelt and she has something to say.
September 1, 2013
I know I liked the book but was at my Grandmothers and couldn't get online to put in a review right away while the book was fresh in my mind. I'm trying to get the books i've read while away from home and put some sort of a rating and a review if possible.
From Good Reads: From the acclaimed author of The Matter of Grace and Her Daughter's Eyes-a novel about a mother of three who, abandoned by her husband, tries to run from her problems.. But when she returns, it's only the beginning of her family's journey.
From Good Reads: From the acclaimed author of The Matter of Grace and Her Daughter's Eyes-a novel about a mother of three who, abandoned by her husband, tries to run from her problems.. But when she returns, it's only the beginning of her family's journey.
January 14, 2010
Wow! This book is so much better than the other book that I have read by this author. Thank goodness. That being said I really enjoyed this book. It was heart wrenching without going so far into detail that your brain hurt. The emotions came across so strongly that I didn't feel like I needed to go deeper into detail about what everyone was feeling or had wrong with them.
August 3, 2012
When a recently-divorced woman descends into depression, has a psychotic break, and abandons her 3 children (including a 5-yo with multiple disabilities), her family struggles to find a new way forward. This was very good, sad, but riveting.
October 16, 2016
This was a pretty good book about a divorced mother of 3, severely depressed. She abandons her kids one day, leaving them to survive on their own. The story was decent, but the writing was fairly basic.
January 3, 2009
This was the second book I read by this author. I really enjoyed it. I felt bad for the children and sad to think that this happens in real life.
April 2, 2009
This book was heartbreaking.
August 12, 2009
It was heartbreaking, sad and yet very real. Didn't want to put the book down.
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January 15, 2010books I've read
February 19, 2010
REALLY liked this book. would most def recommend it! so go READ IT!
May 14, 2010
Another good one from Jessica. She can get inside an issue like no one else and make you feel the logic behind insanity.
August 9, 2010
Very good
Want to Read
June 25, 2011Essex Free Library Book Sale 6/3/2011
March 18, 2013
I found this book to be very depressing:(
June 17, 2013
predictable quick read.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews