Welcome Home Stranger by Kate Christensen (Review by Stacey Lorenson)

Rating:  4.3/5

After ten years of intentional estrangement from her family, fifty-year-old, renowned journalist, Rachael, has been summoned to her childhood home in Maine to settle the affairs of her newly deceased mother Lucie. There, she reunites with her sister Celeste, once close during their childhood, separated by their polar opposite life choices, and a toxic, alcoholic, mentally ill mother. Rachael’s return is fraught with the chaos she fled so long ago as she is forced to confront buried secrets, and an uncertain future. Menopause is the cataclysmic metaphor for Rachael’s life. As midlife smacks her repeatedly in the face during her emotional two week stay, the loss of her mother makes way for resolution and reconnection. 

Christensen characters are highly relatable as they conduct meaningful conversation to unravel the hurt and mystery of their past. The result is an immensely emotional, sometimes funny, reflective novel that examines the transitional stages of a woman in mid-life.  Welcome Home Stranger is an eloquent, melodramatic story filled with interesting plot twists, along with a positive outlook on a woman’s change of life. 

I sympathized with Rachael and the other characters navigating the various stages of grief, loss, and expansion as they confront and challenge each other. I found this a very satisfying read as I witnessed Rachael leaving a life she had clearly outgrown, taking flight to discover the latter half of her life with fresh perspective and new opportunities. One of my favorite lines in the book was a reminder to keep moving forward, “… fast, like a shark…” devouring the unknown.

My only criticism of Rachael’s character, who experiences overwhelming loss in almost every area of her life, stuff that would bring the average woman to her knees, exhibits almost superhuman coping skills.  The things this woman experiences in the span of two weeks would have most people screaming for their therapist!! Having said that, I enjoyed this deep dive into loss, forgiveness, grace, trauma resolution, menopause, alcoholism, and healing. Christensen is a gifted storyteller and Welcome Home Stranger is a novel well worth reading.