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Summary
Summary
A Library Journal Selection for Best Women's Fiction of 2012
One of only two survivors of a plane crash, Nell Slattery wakes in the hospital with no memory of the horrific experience-or who she is, or was. Now she must piece together both body and mind, with the help of family and friends, who have their own agendas. She filters through photos, art, music, and stories, hoping something will jog her memory, and soon, in tiny bits and pieces, Nell starts remembering. . . .
It isn't long before she learns to question the stories presented by her mother, her sister and business partner, and her husband. In the end, she will discover that forgiving betrayals small and large will be the only true path to healing herself-and to finding happiness.
Author Notes
Allison Winn Scotch is the bestselling author of Time of My Life . A former freelance magazine writer, she has written for Glamour, Parents , and Men's Health . She lives in New York City with her husband and their two children. To learn more about Allison Winn Scotch, please visit www.allisonwinn.com.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Winn Scotch (The Department of Lost & Found) sparkles in her captivating fourth novel. Nell Slattery, one of only two survivors of a jet crash, wakes up in a hospital in rural Iowa with complete amnesia, surrounded by family and friends. As they present her with pieces of her past, a question arises: who can she trust? Everyone in her life-husband Peter, mother Indira, best friend Samantha, younger sister Rory-wants her to recover, but they are all also determined to rewrite history for their own benefit. Music, which Nell learns was once a passion of hers, helps the past emerge somewhat, as does the other crash survivor and an opportunistic journalist. But as half-truths begin to explode around Nell like land mines, she comes to understand that she can only rely on-or completely trust-herself. Winn Scotch vividly illustrates the confusion, frustration, and anger of not being able to remember or trust. She particularly shines in creating secondary characters-especially Rory and Anderson-flawed but engaging. Readers will love Nell and won't be able to put the book down until they know how much of her past she wants to bring into her future. Agent: Elizabeth Weed, Weed Literary. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Young woman who survives a devastating plane crash with her body intactand her memory wiped cleanstruggles to piece together her complicated past. Waking up in an Iowa hospital surrounded by beeping machines and people she does not know, Nell Slattery soon discovers she is a very lucky girl. She was found, along with hunky young actor Anderson Carroll, still strapped to her seat in a rural field where a passenger jet went down. She and Anderson were the only two to live. The daughter of the famous and reclusive painter Francis Slattery, Nell is told that she has a husband, Peter, and runs a Manhattan gallery with her pretty younger sister, Rory. She remembers nothing. It emerges that she and Peter were briefly separated after he had a one-nightstand with a co-worker, and she and Rory were not speaking before her fateful flight. Still, under the well-meaning ministrations of her new-agey mom, Nell returns to New York (and Peter) while ignoring the sinking feeling that she isn't hearing the whole story. Back home she is dismayed to learn from various sources that she was previously a buttoned-up control freak with a wardrobe full of neutral colors. That is a far cry from the "fabulous" person she was hoping for. She was also a promising musician, who gave it all up after her father abandoned the family in her teens. Her father's shadow looms large over Nell, and finding out more about him is part of the reason she allows a reality TV show to tell her story, against everyone's better judgment. That makes sense, since it turns out that everyone in Nell's inner circle has something to hide, and it is up to her to find the truth on her own. So she enlists Anderson, who has been self-medicating his post-crash PTSD with supermodels and booze, on a road trip to a small town that just might be the key to everythingif she can only remember where it is. Scotch (Time of My Life, 2009, etc.) crafts a plausible story, complete with a capable and prickly protagonist, that doesn't resort to any movie-of-the-week amnesia clichs. A dry-eyed modern take on healing and forgiveness.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
After waking up in the hospital with a splitting headache, more than a few bruises, and hundreds of questions, Nell Slattery knows she's unlikely to find any easy answers. As one of two survivors of a violent plane crash, Nell is diagnosed with a healthy dose of amnesia and is unable to remember most of her life before the crash. With the help of a playlist and the increasing affections of the other crash survivor, it's up to Nell to decide which pieces of her past are worth rediscovering. With a reclusive father, an evasive mother, and a potentially broken marriage, Nell is completely unsure where to start rebuilding her life. Scotch has drawn a fully three-dimensional heroine in Nell, and the story's pacing perfectly mirrors the protagonist's increasing rate of self-discovery. Scotch peppers her chapters with a number of pop-culture and musical references, giving the story a modern and lively feel. With shades of Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me? (2008) and Liane Moriarty's What Alice Forgot (2011), this novel is a breezy yet introspective examination of one woman's newfound history.--Turza, Stephanie Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Nell Slattery, one of only two survivors of an airplane crash, wakes up with amnesia from a coma. She does not remember who she is, let alone recognize her mother, sister, or husband. As Nell attempts to regain her memory, she must rely on her family for the details of her life but soon becomes frustrated when she senses they are holding back. During this process, Nell also becomes obsessed with her father, an artist with emotional problems who disappeared from her life when she was 13. The suspense builds as Nell, using the playlist of her favorite songs that her sister made for her, begins to recall her life before the accident. VERDICT Readers who appreciate women's fiction that investigates serious themes, such as Marian Keyes's novels, will enjoy Scotch's (Time of My Life) fine novel. Reading groups will find much to discuss as well. [See Prepub Alert, 10/9/11.]-Kristen Stewart, Brazoria Cty. Lib. Syst., Pearland, TX (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.