Book Review: The Road She Left Behind

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In ‘The Road She Left Behind’, Darcy Goodridge fled her family estate eight years ago and hasn’t looked back.

Book Summary:

Three women. Two families torn apart by secrets.

Crushed by guilt over the car accident that killed her father and sister, and torn apart by her mother’s resentment, Darcy Goodridge hasn’t been home in eight years. Now an unexpected phone call threatens to upend what little serenity she’s found.

Her nephew, Emerson, who was just a baby when his mother died, has gone missing. Darcy must return home and face her past in order to save him.

Once back in Ohio, Darcy realizes there’s more to Emerson’s disappearance—and to the sudden retirement of her mother, Rosalind—than meets the eye. As she works to make inroads with Rosalind, Darcy begins to unravel a decades-old secret that devastated her family and forced a wedge between her and Michael Varano, the man she left heartbroken when she vanished after the funeral.

After carrying the scars of that fateful night for almost a decade, Darcy is determined to find closure, healing, and maybe even love where she lost them all in the first place—right back home where she belongs.

My Review:

This book is about family and forgiveness. Sometimes, when there’s a family emergency, members of the clan put their bad feelings aside to see it through. And that’s exactly what happens here.

Mother and daughter put aside their anger and resentment to move forward as a family.

This is a good women’s fiction book, with a little romance thrown in. It would be good to read while rocking on your porch or before you go to sleep. It would also be a good beach read.

About The Author:

Christine Nolfi is the award-winning and bestselling author of seventeen novels. Look for her 2025 release, ‘The Secret Library of Hanna Reeves.’

Other works include her 2024 release ‘A Heart Like Home’; ‘A Brighter Flame’, selected by She Reads as a best book club pick. ‘The Passing Storm’ was cited by Publishers Weekly as “Tautly plotted, expertly characterized, and genuinely riveting.” It was a gold medal winner in general fiction, the International Book Awards.

Earlier works include ‘The Road She Left Behind,’ a top book club pick from Working Mother and Parade magazines. There is the award-winning Sweet Lake Series: ‘Sweet Lake’, ‘The Comfort of Secrets’, and ‘The Season of Silver Linings’. She wrote ‘Second Chance Grill,’ which is highly recommended by The Midwest Book Review. And ‘Treasure Me’, recognized by the Next Generation Indie Awards.

‘The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge’ was cited by The Midwest Book Review as “Poignant and powerful. It is as much a saga of learning to survive, heal, and forgive as it is a chilling crime story, unforgettable to the very end.”

A native of Ohio, Christine now resides in South Carolina with her husband. Visit Christine Nolfi at the website of the same name.