The Life You Left Behind: A breathtaking story of love, loss and happiness from Sunday Times bestseller Debbie Howells

Written by Debbie Howells

Narrated by Penelope Rawlins

‘A warm, uplifting story about love and loss . . . but beware, you'll need a big box of tissues!’ Clare Swatman, author of Before We Grow Old

Two strangers.

One missed flight.

It only takes a moment to change a life.

One year ago Casey Cassidy was happy. She had great friends, a wonderful teaching job and a busy life – until with one missed flight, everything changes.

One year later Casey knows what it means to find that once-in-a-lifetime love people dream of. But when Ben leaves, her heart is shattered.

Left facing a year of firsts without him, piecing her life back together seems impossible. But then a friend offers her a home in rural France.

In the solitude and emptiness, Casey needs to come to terms with what’s happened and find a way to move forward. She has no idea where that will take her one year later...

What readers are saying about The Life You Left Behind:

‘A powerful, emotional, and life-affirming story of love and hope’ Rachael Lucas

‘The writing was INCREDIBLE! I’ve never highlighted so many sections of a book before, but there were just so many beautifully written passages that I knew I indeed to save to come back to' Shan _treatyoshelves_
‘Still crying. I do not think any other book touched me so much’ itsallaboutbooksandmacarons

'I really loved this book. It's one I'll never forget’ coffee.break.book.reviews

'That was absolutely beautiful. Heart-breaking but beautiful’ mrsbookburnee

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boldwood Books
• Release date: Feb 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781802809954

Debbie Howells

Debbie Howells is the bestselling author of The Bones of You (Macmillan), a Richard & Judy Book Club pick. It was followed by The Beauty of the End, The Death of Her and Her Sister’s Lie (Macmillan). The Secret is her second book with HarperCollins, following The Vow, which was a #1 ebook bestseller. www.debbiehowells.co.uk You can follow @_debbiehowells on Instagram or @debbie__howells on Twitter.

Reviews for The Life You Left Behind

[Nata Kis · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

What a cliche! On every step.. it's also very depressing. It's like the author had nothing to write and just wrote all the depressing situations there can be. Ridiculous. And no sense! I didn't even pass 40% of the book.

[Zoe Morton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such an enjoyable read. Casey is trying to come to terms with the loss of Ben. She met him at the airport when she missed her flight. The story moves between the past and present. She's moved to a rural house in France where she finds a diary and begins to read it. I loved the many layers to this story. The sadness that Ben felt about the world. The way that Brad felt it too. The diary was so sweet even more so when it was revealed who wrote it. Its quite a pacy read in the beginning and I was left needing to know more after each chapter. I've read other books by this author but this is the first of this genre and I think shes nailed it.