Review: Miss Me When I’m Gone by Emily Arsenault

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Original edition (July 31, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 0062103105
• Source: Publisher

After her divorce, Gretchen Waters traveled the south, writing a book about her failed marriage and the lives of country music icons like Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton. The novel, Tammyland, won her instant fame and recognition.  She began writing a second book, initially a followup to Tammyland, dedicated the the men of country music. The theme of the book took a dramatic turn when her research led her to examine her own haunted childhood. The novel was never completed, as her young life was ended when she took a fall from the steps of a library after a book event.  The police never officially ruled it foul play, but inklings of such a possibility were whispered by her loved ones.

Wanting her daughter’s novel to be completed, Gretchen’s mother (who was actually her aunt, raising her after her own mother was brutally murdered) asks Gretchen’s college best friend, Jamie, to serve as Gretchen’s literary executor.  Nearly seven months pregnant, Jamie ignores any preparation for her unborn child and becomes obsessed with Gretchen’s research.  As Jamie begins to piece together the multiple pieces of Gretchen’s manuscript, she unveils not a manuscript to the intended book, but a great deal of research about Gretchen’s hunt to find her biological father and her biological mother’s murder. The more she investigates, the more she wonders if Gretchen’s death was no accident and that her life, and the life of the child growing inside her, is now in danger. Stopping at nothing, Jamie knows she must piece together the pieces, telling a story that Gretchen was desperate for people to know.

Told in multiple narratives, using the “book within a book” technique, the author not only shows her obvious love of country music but also informs the reader a great deal about the leading women of country music, many of them with doomed and short lives themselves. A truly unique book, a memoir of sorts with a touch of mystery, this book is destined to grab the attention of a wide range of readers.

That said, I found myself more interested in Gretchen’s story than Jamie’s. Since as readers we are granted clips of her previous book, Tammyland, and excerpts from her manuscript, I feel we are granted more access to Gretchen as a character, despite the fact she is no longer living. While I understand the need for a vehicle to bring her story to life, via Jamie, I felt her character to be far less developed, and as a result, far less interesting.  I looked forward more to reading the excerpts of Gretchen’s book and manuscript than Jamie’s narrative.

All in all, though, this novel was an engaging examination of family and friendship, of uncovering dark and painful pasts, and hope for the future. Just like Gretchen’s Tammyland, I think this novel would be a great book club discussion book for it is chock full of discussable topics and themes.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to review this book. Please be sure to check out the official tour page to learn more about the author and to visit other tour stops on the way.