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If Only I Could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman
How secrets and assumptions can destroy your family
Hannah Beckerman’s novel, If Only I Could Tell You, investigates the family dynamics between a mother and her two estranged adult daughters. What has happened in this family that would cause one sister to hate another? How does a mother bring them together after thirty years of separation? And how can a dying woman beat the clock and direct a reconciliation that’s been impossible for decades?
If Only I Could Tell You is an illustration of how families are torn apart by guilt, secrets, anger, and wrong assumptions. It also shows how easily families can splinter and how hard it is to put them together again. (Sounds a bit Humpty-Dumpty-esque, doesn’t it?)
Each chapter is narrated by one of the three main characters, an approach which highlights the differing perceptions of past events:
- Audrey: The mother of Jess and Lily, has been diagnosed with cancer, and reluctantly moves in with her younger daughter, Jess, and her granddaughter, Mia.
- Lily: Audrey’s oldest daughter, who is a powerful, affluent marketer who appears — from the outside at least — to have a perfect life. Lily has a sixteen-year-old daughter named Phoebe.
- Jess: Audrey’s younger daughter is a…
