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Death can change everything. Even the past.
What would you keep of your mother’s after she dies? What secrets would you keep from your family? Serena is dealing with these questions while balancing grief, a scientific career, motherhood, and not hating her spouse. You know, the typical easy life of a woman.
There is one thing Serena thought she knew. Her mother hated her. But now Serena must come face to face with the truth she learns after her mother’s death. Maybe her mother didn’t hate her, but loved her so much that she changed everything for her.
“As sophisticated and refined as it is emotionally fervent and fiercely confident.”
— Indies Today
What People Are Saying
“The characters wow were well developed I was hanging on everything they did!”
— Rubie Clark, Reviewer
“The Things We Keep is a journey you might not expect. Emotions aren’t easy to navigate when you confront all you’d prefer to avoid. Julee Balko is spot on here.”
— Heather Douglass, Reviewer
“This would be a very discussable read for a book club.”
— Katie Klopfenstein, Reviewer
“If a writer's debut can shake the fundaments of this old grizzly reader as Julee Balko's novel did, we can safely predict that she's destined for an outstanding literary career.”
— Bob Laerhoven, Author
"* Debut author with a fantastic book * Julee Balko does an awesome job weaving a story with really complicated family dynamics after the loss of a mother."
— Colleen, Goodreads Review 5-star review and shelved: best-of-2021