The Impossible Truths of Love by Hannah Beckerman Blog Tour

 Books are written to make you feel, or at least that's what I think. 

To me, a sign of a good story is one that induces an array of emotions as you turn the pages. You know the ones, where you get lost in it all and it begins to feel extremely real, plausible.

Hannah Beckerman has done just that with her latest novel, The Impossible Truths of Love.

When Nell’s father makes a deathbed declaration that hints at a long-held secret, it reignites feelings of isolation that have plagued her for years. Her suspicions about the family’s past only deepen when her mother, Annie, who is losing her memories to dementia, starts making cryptic comments of her own.

Thirty-five years earlier, Annie’s life was upended by a series of traumas—one shock after another that she buried deep in her heart. The decisions she made at the time were motivated by love, but she knew even then that nobody could ever understand—let alone forgive—what she did.

As the two women’s stories unravel, a generation apart, Nell finally discovers the devastating truth about her mother’s past, and her own.

On his death-bed a father leaves this world uttering one simple yet confusing sentence to his youngest daughter - "You need to know that I've always loved you even though you were never really mine to love."

Nell is understandably left bewildered by this comment and as she seeks to discover just what he meant more secrets from the past are slowly revealed.

A beautifully heart-breaking tale which I think was designed to make the reader not only observe various emotions but to identify some of those feelings within themselves.

This isn't just one person's story to tell.

From bestselling author Hannah Beckerman comes a moving story about memory, secrets, and what it really means to feel that you’re one of the family.

We are shown the complexities of family life from both a mother and a daughter, something that Hannah portrays with a quiet sensitivity.

Set over two timelines, the present day narrated by Nell (the daughter) and 35 years in the past told by Annie (the mother). This way of presenting the book worked well for this book. As past and present slowly meet and events become clearer, the effect was a real squeezing on my heart.

Nell's mum suffers with dementia which made some truths even harder to hear, at times as though Annie was on a loop having to relive difficult moments that she'd already had to overcome in her younger years.

Just impossibly sad. 

In this beautifully observed and emotionally powerful story of identity, memory and the nature of family, Hannah Beckerman asks: To what lengths would you go to protect the ones you love?

There is  however great care and attention throughout each chapter, I detected strong family ties despite tough decisions that were having to be made.

*Trigger Warning*, there are scenes involving baby loss however I believe that the author done this topic justice, it isn't a subject that should be hidden, it's one that anyone should feel comfortable talking about because it happens more frequently than some possibly realise.

I'm not sure what I was hoping for the more that I read.

Not necessarily a completely happy ending, I guess what I wanted for all of the characters was closure and I do believe that was achieved.

By the time I'd reached the closing chapters I felt emotionally drained, but in the best of ways - yes that is a thing.

The Impossible Truths of Love is a story that is deeply moving, I experienced an abundance of emotions when turning the pages. The complexities of families and the lives in which they live captured so well. Throughout the whole book the narrative remained honest, real, raw.

I've never known a story quite like it and it's definitely one of my favourite reads this year!

Do take the time to join the rest of the blog tour to read more about this soon to be bestselling novel.