I enjoyed this book and while it didn’t blow me away it was a good read. I liked the fact that the story is told from three different perspectives, two living, one posthumously through his diaries. An interesting original tale but hurrah for the ending, nothing unbelievably cheesy, just nicely hopeful

Whilst I wasn't wowed by this book, it is a really good read. Perhaps a little slow to start, but it didn't take me too long to get into it. I liked the fact there were three narrators, (Pearl, Carrie, and Pearl's father through his diaries). It was at times bittersweet, but there was also hope. I did think there were some loose ends (the step sister and step mother), but that the ending hit just the right note. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the book that has all the family drama and that will make you laugh out loud and cry at the same time and that will make you not put the book down.

Pearl receives the news that her father has died and so she and Denny flies to London to attend the funeral from France. Her father has left her his diary, which was written in shorthand--something that only Pearl knows. With her father's wife demanding to give the diary to her as she firmly believes that it belonged to her, And as Pearl reads her late father's diary, she gets to know more about her and realizes that he knows more about her despite the fact that they didn't have a good relationship with each other. Meanwhile, Pearl gets a surprise visit from someone.

This book is written in two perspectives--Pearl and Carrie. You will soon get to know who Carrie is by the middle of the book. The story is beautifully written with the author doing a good job of drawing the reader into the story. This book actually reminded me the likeness of Jodi Picoult, Heather Webber where this book in fact talks about the complications within the family and the relationships between the family members in general. I do like the part where the relationship with Pearl and Carrie were a bit estranged but eventually, it started growing as they both grow into understanding with each other. Overall, I actually enjoyed reading this book. There were some tear jerking moments, some funny parts as well that will make you laugh out loud and also overall, an intense family drama that is well described in the book.

Worth full five stars in my opinion! Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Pearl Flowers lives in a fairy tale cottage in the woods in France. Her life is small, strict and safe. Everyday is planned. Mondays she take the middle path through the trees, on Wednesday the right, and on Fridays, her special day, she takes the long way into the village. If she makes sure to follow her routine, she can avoid thinking about the past. But then an unexpected phone call throw everything into chaos: Francis, Pearl's estranged father, has died and left her a bequest. One she can only claim if she agrees to come to his funeral and see the family she's been hiding from for so long.

The pace is steady in this heart-warming and heart-breaking read, Pearl is in her 50s and set in her ways. When her father dies, she has to go back for his funeral and meet the family she's been estranged from. I was intrigued by the premise and I wasn't disappointed by the storyline, The story is set between France and England. It did take me a couple of chapters to get into the story, but once I did, I was hooked.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #BethMiller for my ARC of #TheWomanWhoCameBackToLife in exchange for an honest review.

An outstanding read that touched my heart in so many ways and on so many different levels. Beautifully written and totally captivating, the characters and emotional journey they each follow will stay with me for a very long time. Absolutely loved it.

The Woman Who Came Back To Life is a slower paced book to what I usually go for but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Readers are transported between England and France and between the past and present.
The story is told between Pearl, Carrie and extracts from Pearl’s father’s diary.
For the past six years Pearl has been living cut off in a cottage tucked away in a forest in France having severed contact with her brothers and her long-time estranged father.
When her father dies she is summoned to attend the funeral as something important is being left to her which she must collect in person.
When Pearl attends the funeral she is brought face to face with much of what she had been running away from for all these years.
It’s quite clear that Pearl has suffered some trauma and the way she now lives her life is her and her husband’s way of protecting her.
I found myself laughing out loud at some parts of the story and I actually sobbed during some of the latter chapters – the pain and heartache Pearl has endured was truly heartbreaking.
As Pearl starts to translate her dad’s diaries which have been written in shorthand (I can read and write in shorthand as a former journalist) she starts to uncover some difficult truths about him and his life once he had left the family home.
As Pearl discovers more about her father’s life it becomes clear that he hasn’t been estranged from all of his children the entire time and that these diaries are being written with the sole intention that Pearl reads them. But why?
We’re really taken on a journey with Pearl and Carrie – Carrie dealing with the death of her adopted mum and trying to reconnect with her birth mother – Pearl trying to come to terms with the many losses in her life and how she can move forward.
The Woman Who Came Back To Life is a heart-warming and often heartbreaking read. It’s a slow burner but stick with it, it’s worth it in the end.

Thank you netgallery for allowing me to read this wonderful book. The characters were so relatable and I didn't want the book to end. Will definitely recommend to friends and look forward to reading more of Beth Miller books.

It took me quite a while to sort out all of the snarled threads of the story. I had so many questions about how this family because so fractured and why Pearl was estranged from her father for over 35 years. I liked the diary angle and the fact that they were written in shorthand, which is a lost art in the modern world. One question I had which I never found an answer, was why Pearl’s father left her mother. It’s an interesting read of tender moments, facing the past, and reconnecting with family.

This was such a compelling read that was really well written with characters that were were so endearing and relatable. The book dealt with sensitive issues in a very sensitive yet raw way and the book was all the better for it.
There was such hidden depth to this book and it just kept drawing me in and gripping me so that I couldnt put it down. I really enjoyed it, I laughed, i cried and i hoped. A great read.

Pearl lives in a fairy tale cottage in a forest in France, where she feels safe. Her address is the middle of no where.
The book takes us on her journey of how and why she is living here. The secrets, the losses, and the life she has had.
The book, is the story, of the many layers, that made her the way she was too, peeling back the many layers to see who she is becoming today. It was a fascinating read.
I received an ARC from Bookouture through NetGalley.

The story
Pearl is 52. She and her carpenter husband Denny, married later in life and now live in a rural area in France, in a property he inherited and restored. It’s set in the woods, and both Pearl and Denny stay close to home, only venturing out when necessary. When Pearl receives a surprise call from her older brother Greg to say their estranged father is dying, a chain of events is set in motion that opens up their cloistered world to the realities of the recent and long ago past. Why Pearl and Denny live in isolation in France and why they are estranged from their family.

My thoughts
The plot and history of Pearl and her family’s lives is peeled back like the layers of an onion. There are lots of tears from the emotional wounds of the past, but also good surprises and bittersweet moments as these truths are revealed. I so enjoyed the restrained pace of how each of these stories and aspects of the past is revealed. It shows a very British reserve, and also highlights just how hard is it to pick the scabs off past wounds. There are so many aspects of this story that are triggers (several of these are things I have experienced) but they are handled in a sensitive way that doesn’t feel harsh. A really powerful read for me ❤️

I adored The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright, so the bar was set high for the author's latest. Did it disappoint? Not in the slightest. A different read in some ways, but a satisfying book on so many levels.
Pearl is a woman in her fifties who lives a simple yet structured life in France. A life thrown into turmoil when her estranged father dies and she is forced to return for the funeral and a strange bequest that opens a veritable can of worms.
This, for me, was a book to savour in small bites. Taking time to familiarise myself with the key characters and the dynamics that unfold through the pages. Broken, damaged people with secrets and resentments, chasms between them that might never be mended.
Don't assume this is a book without humour. There are some delicious lines that made me giggle.
'Fine.' I tried to leave it on a more pleasant note. 'My gruntle is very dissed.'
Mum picked up my cue. 'I'm sorry to hear that, let me see if I can perform a gruntle-ectomy.'
As in real life, there are rarely quick fixes. But hope shines through.
You could create your own version of who you were, and how you wanted things to be.

I loved this book! Essentially the story of broken, damaged people, the gentle rhythm of the storytelling carries the reader along as the characters come to grips with their circumstances and learn to take control of their lives.

At the heart of the story is 52-year-old Pearl, who has moved with her husband from the UK to a small cottage in southern France, surrounded by a private forest. There they can escape from their lives and their friends and acquaintances back home, entering into civilization when they choose, but largely passing time alone in their solitary forest retreat. But the world can only be held at bay for limited periods, and soon enough, life encroaches on their safe cocoon.

Pearl returns to the UK for her estranged father’s funeral. While there, his bequest to her of his meticulous journals allows her to override the wishes of her overprotective husband and to reexamine circumstances of the past she has always preferred to evade.

The story is also told through Carrie, a single mother struggling with the death of her own beloved mother to cancer, and through the tortured journals of Pearl’s unhappy father, Francis, who laments the choices he has made.

This was a heartwarming story that unraveled slowly, but in a fully engaging manner, and I thoroughly enjoyed following along with Pearl, Carrie and Francis as they worked to atone for their mistakes and to open their hearts to others – and to forgive themselves. I highly recommend this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this novel, in exchange for an honest review.

Heartbreaking family drama set in England and France, with pops of sly humour. It's very different from her other novels but as always, full of people who stay with you long after you've read the final page. Hugely recommended.

[It was probably tiredness on my part but I was a little confused during the first chapter, keeping track of who's who but trust me, stay with it, all becomes clear and you'll be amply rewarded.]

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Trigger Warning for adoption , death, loss of a child
"I last saw Dad twenty-eight years ago, in 1990"
"Though weirdly, my father was beginning to feel less absent now, despite the whole being deceased thing, than he had done for over thirty years"
"There's always at least one person at every funeral who no-one knows, and it's only much later that everyone says, I thought they were your friend?"
I was impressed by how much this book intrigued me ... I still am.
Family drama all set in quite recent time with main characters who are over their fifties but finally show how much their childhood is still relevant on their lives and how much traumatised they still are ... or hide themselves to be.
I loved the writing style , the different personalties portrayed in this book and how much , through the plot. the author shows that there are always different version of the same story, one not less relevant that the other.
Life is full or irony and sarcasm it seems ... and it can surprise you when you least expect it. It's not necessary a good surprise but what can you do ?
This story involves every possible relationship's dynamics: mother-daughter , father-daughter , siblings and romantic love.
It tells us that there are experiences you'll find an hard time recovering from but also that some times you can find peace only with the knowledge that despite everything, even if just at the end of it, you tried to make it work and to make it better.
Even if some times you need time , space , loneliness, this does not mean that you'll always stick with those.
By a certain point in life maybe you'll want to live again and try to pick up the pieces of what you've left behind because you can't forget but maybe you can forgive.
"I was used to unexpected sweats - I was a woman in my fifties - but this was full-on panic sweats"
"Crap to see you, and you too, Daddy's Best Girl, keeper of the juicy secrets of the Fatherland"
"One should always have something sensational to read an the train"

Different sets of parental relationships, pearl and her father, pearl and her daughter, pearl and her mother
Carrie and Pearl, Carrie and her adoptive mother, Carrie and her daughter
Andrea and her mother, Andrea and Francis
An emotional powerful hope filled book.
I loved it

The book is about dealing with the past, family relationship and learning to let go. It delivers a beautiful reminder that father-daughter relationships are not always butterflies and rainbows. Sometimes it can be complicated and completely unique. Perhaps this book might resonate with the complexities of one’s relationship with his/her parents. This is a good reflection on what your parents mean to you.

Basically, this is a slow leisurely paced book. It jumps between snippets of the dad’s journal and POV’s of the main characters – Pearl and Carrie. The relationship of Pearl and Carrie is incredibly moving. I like how the backstory of the main characters are presented to make its readers feel connected to them. The story is heartwarming with episodes to make its readers laugh, and at the same time, it touches the heart.

Special thanks to @netgalley and to the publisher, @bookouture for providing me an e-ARC in exchange of an honest feedback.

Pearl hasn't seen her Dad since 1990. Well, that's not strictly true, she hasn't tried to see him since 1990. In the decades since, her life has been regularly scheduled bliss. Living with her husband in a beautiful cottage deep in the woods of the French countryside, she lives by a safe, secluded routine and it works. But her routine is shattered when she receives the news that her Father is dead and has left her one last gift - but she has to return home and attend his funeral to find out what it is.

After saying Goodbye to him all over again, she's given the legacy he left behind for her - including a diary, left just for her. Each page lovingly addressed to her, from a clearly doting father … and she feels his love and devotion for the first time in her life. Now Pearl has to question everything she thought about where she came from and where she's going next.

"You're a funny mix … you're talented, but so low-key, like you're trying to fade into the background."

I can't exactly say I'm surprised here - but Beth Miller has crafted another masterpiece. This book broke my heart a thousand times but filled me with love and hope and made me want to call everyone I know to tell them I love them. (Love you Beth!)

A deeply emotive, heart rending story about families and love in all their different forms - this wasn't the story I was expecting, it was so much more than a woman finding out where she came from but learning from it to figure out where she's going next.

We jumped between time and perspectives, interspersed with snippets from the journal, all weaving together perfectly like an intricate tapestry. The characterisation was remarkable - Pearl wasn't perfect by any means, but I loved her and connected with her almost instantly. The dynamics between the characters were complex and confusing - exploring the different ways families can cope with loss and grief.

Warm and cosy, but heart-breaking all at once - this book was literally the feeling of a loving hug after a big cry.

I read this one in one sitting it was fantastic! This emotional and heartwarming novel is for anyone who knows it’s never too late to look for happiness. I really enjoyed this book and feel it is one I will read again in the future.

“The Woman Who Came Back to Life” is by Beth Miller. In this book, we mainly follow Pearl, a woman who is living in France with her husband. Pearl learns that her father, from whom she is estranged, has died and left her - specially - a bequest. If she doesn’t appear at his funeral, she will not get the bequest and it will be destroyed. Pearl decides to attend the funeral and takes the bequest - which turns out to be a number of diaries. Long story short - without giving away some of the twists of this plot - Pearl discovers that her father wasn’t clueless about Pearl’s life - from her marriage and a sad miscarriage - and her attitude toward her father changes while reading the diaries. There are a number of side stories about family, discovering happiness, dealing with the past, and learning to let go (and dealing with) difficult issues.

I found this book to be a slow leisurely paced one. There are a number of Pearl’s father’s diary entries from the past interwoven into the story. A few chapters are from other character’s views, but pretty quickly which character is speaking is easy to keep apart. I found this book trying to cover a lot that at times it seemed a bit too “busy” but it does all work out in the end. I found a few things to be a bit frustrating - such as why Pearl’s step-mother and step-sister insist upon having the diaries and why did Pearl’s brother offer to destroy them if Pearl didn’t want them? [In hindsight, I think this concern is addressed, with outside perceptions apparently being important to the step-mother and step-sister.]

This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Miller and while it didn’t blow me away, it was a solidly written book, and I’ll check out her other books to see if those interest me as well. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.