Review: The Way From Here

Title: The Way From Here

Author: Jane Cockram

Publisher: 2nd March 2022 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 320 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: women’s fiction, drama, contemporary

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Three generations of women. Three generations worth of secrets. Will a cache of letters from beyond the grave hold the key to unravelling them all? The answer to that question lies at the heart of this addictive and atmospheric novel from the author of The House of Brides.

Growing up, the Anderson sisters could not have been more different. Susie, the wild one, had an adventurous life while Camilla— Mills—followed a safer path. When Susie suddenly dies, Mills falls apart. Until she receives a bundle of mysterious letters from her estranged sister to be read in the case of her death. Each letter instructs her to visit a place special to Susie, both to spread her ashes but also to uncover some truths Susie has long kept hidden from her family.

Their mother Margaret has secrets of her own. When living in Swinging Sixties London, she too made a decision about her life that not only haunts her, but will reverberate through the generations.

One family, three very different women. What choices and secrets connect them? In this novel of truth and lies, concealment and regret, Jane Cockram flips the looking glass to expose our true face, revealing the deep lines of deception that can run through families and how the people we love the most often have the most to hide.

My Thoughts

The Way From Here by Jane Cockram is such a great read! It truly had it all …. twists and turns that I simply did not see coming. The perfect balance of emotional investment combined with family drama, with a touch of mystery and intrigue. 

‘A promise to myself that one day this story will be told. Even as I write them, I worry about getting the words down right, so I have a crazy idea. Reading the words is not enough. I want you to walk in the hushed halls of the National Gallery of London, to breathe deeply in the salty island air of the Île de Clair and shelter in the green gardens of Pond Cottage. I’m going to ask you to visit these places and do something for me. And because I’m dead and it’s my last request, you’ ll have to do it!’

What attracted me from the outset was the concept. Susie unexpectedly dies just before her fortieth birthday, shocking everyone. Her sister, Camilla, then receives a set of letters where Susie requests they be read in order and at specific locations of where to scatter her ashes. The inclusion of the letters was genius, on top of first person narratives from both sisters (and the mother at a later date) it really added another dimension to the tale. Camilla then sets out on a journey following the footsteps of the trip Susie had made in 1998. 

‘She was here because her sister wanted to tell her something she hadn’t had the courage to tell her when she was alive. It was never going to be easy.’

The first part of the book established both sisters in the past and present and I thought I was in for a solid reflective and introspective read. Then bang! Halfway through the first of what would be several twists hit the story. Now I was fully hooked! This was a story that would involve three generations of the same family and would prove to be shocking to some, if not all, members involved. Slowly, Jane tells the story moving seamlessly between character voices and timelines - it was, in fact,  faultless. Family secrets slowly unfurled as its members come to realise past mistakes and regrets. 

‘Nostalgia is laced with sadness and regrets. The could-haves and should-haves. Do you have any of those, Mills?’

I have nothing but praise for Jane’s writing and the way she pulled all the various threads of this intriguing tale together for a most satisfying story. It is about families and the often difficult relationships, yet, it is also about life and meaning, all set against a backdrop of some picturesque locations - from Australia, to France, to England. 

This book, with such an original plot, is one full of intrigue and drama set across three generations of women. There are secrets that, when revealed, will have lasting impact on all involved. The melding of voices through the sisters and especially the letters is unique and bittersweet. I simply can't wait to read what future stories Jane has lined up for us next. 

‘… the future I looked forward to then hasn’t turned out the way I expected. They say youth is wasted on the young, but it feels to me like not a moment is wasted - we carry our youth with us forever. How I felt when I was sixteen, who I loved when I was nineteen, what I regretted at twenty-one - none of this goes away. It’s all me, it’s all still here.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.