While I Was Gone
by Sue Miller
ISBN: 0-345-91151-4
Ballantine Books, 1999

This book left me with an overwhelming sadness.  There is loss on so many levels.

This is a story about one woman who has spent a lifetime figuring out who she is, dealing with deep losses, and finding some sort of peace.  However, that peace is at risk when she meets someone from her past who intrigues her and brings memories flooding back.

Jo risks her entire life to pursue a past that was not as it seemed.  Her integrity is challenged.  Her marriage is challenged.

This book reminds me that life is not as easy or as uncomplicated as fairy tales and movies may have us believe.  We have pasts that can tempt us.  We have people we are attracted to even long after we’ve entered marriage or long-term commitments.

What defines us is how we deal with temptations and the baggage we bring.

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