For me, stories begin with a curiosity, a question that won’t let me go. For The Story She Left Behind, that question was: What happened to Barbara Newhall Follett and her language? I was captivated by the real-life mystery of this child prodigy who published a fantasy novel at twelve years old, invented a language, and then vanished without a trace at twenty-five. I knew I would fictionalize her so I started imagining a daughter left behind by a mother’s disappearance (the real Barbara never had a child), and a book that daughter could not decipher as it was written in her mother’s made-up language. The more I thought about it, the more I knew—this wasn’t just a story about a missing woman, it was a story about how we find ourselves in the things left behind.
― Patti Callahan Henry, Interview, Fresh Fiction
What booksellers are saying about The Story She Left Behind
- I enjoyed this poignant, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hopeful meditation on imagination, yearning, and motherhood. The literary mystery at the center of the novel kept me turning the page to see what would happen next.
― Christina Henderson Harner, The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama | BUY
- Clara Harrington is summoned to England to retrieve the dictionary of her mother’s lost language. The dictionary disappeared, along with her mother, many years ago. Clara’s journey is full of more questions than answers, but she refuses to leave until she uncovers the truth. This is an enchanting novel inspired by a true literary mystery.
― Rae Ann Parker, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee | BUY
- What an absolutely lovely world to stumble into as society collapses around! I loved this even more than Henry’s last novel, Flora Lea, which was a total delight as well. And the fact that she recommended MOTHER HUNGER in the appendix, given the incredibly complicated relationship detailed in these pages – just perfect.
― Alissa Redmond, South Main Book Co. in Salisbury, North Carolina | BUY
About Patti Callahan Henry
Patti Callahan Henry is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of several novels, including Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis. She is the recipient of the Christy Award, the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Year Award, and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year. She is the cohost and cocreator of the popular weekly online live web show and podcast Friends and Fiction. She lives in Alabama and South Carolina with her family. Find out more at PattiCallahanHenry.com.
