What We Leave Behind, Sue Halpern (Review by Lara Ferguson)

Melody Marcus is adopted. A senior in high school, she has never wanted to know who her biological parents are and when her mother dies in a freak accident, she is even more convinced that she doesn’t want to know. It doesn’t matter; her parents are her parents. Her entire world is turned upside down, why would she complicate it further? But when a close friend convinces her to participate in a blind genetic study, it may be impossible to maintain her ignorance regarding her biology, unlocking secrets she may or may not want to discover. ​Candace Milton is a successful professional woman in her forties, who, after experiencing her parents’ destructive relationship, has decided that she will always be single. She has intentionally kept herself from developing many close relationships and she is just fine with her life. When her best friend finds a partner, she is forced to face how alone she really is and when she has a chance meeting with a close friend of Melody’s father, she is forced to rethink who she is and what she needs. ​Sue Halpern has created a beautiful story that examines the question of how we become who we are. Is it genetic, or learned? Can we change it? She deftly weavesthe lives of Melody and Candace, pulling the reader in and allowing a glimpse of each woman’s struggles, strengths, and emotional vulnerabilities bit by bit as they walk their respective life journeys. What We Leave Behind is a poignant picture of the ways people build their families, biological and chosen and the essential need that we all have to belong.