Book Review — The Stories We Carry

Robin W. Pearson does it again with her latest novel, The Stories We Carry. Set in a small southern town, it explores the stories we tell others and those we tell ourselves. Truth sometimes is somewhere in between. The book was thought-provoking and tear-inducing for me. It also is all the books, books, books! Check it out below.

A small-town bookstore owner finds herself at odds with a newcomer bent on disrupting her quiet life in this Southern women’s fiction novel by award-winning author Robin W. Pearson.

Glory Pryor has carved out a life for herself in Gilmore, North Carolina, cultivating a community around her bookstore, By the Book. While her business is a success, she carries the weight of stories of her own she’s never told anyone. She holds out hope that one day her estranged brother will turn up on her doorstep so she can finally learn where he’s been all these years. Glory’s husband Eli thinks she has her arms wrapped too tightly around the could-have-beens, and that it’s time for them to let go of the store as they head into their retirement years. Glory has different opinions on that—she’s not ready to give up the dream she’s built just yet. Then Adelle Simonette shows up with her young son, Bennett, and Glory’s carefully controlled life begins to crumble.

Newly widowed Adelle Simonette is a single mother trying to find her footing and navigate parenting her young son. Lost in her grief, one thing she’s certain of is that she needs to confront Glory Pryor and everybody who knows her because the woman’s been living a lie. Adelle thinks it’s high time Glory made things right. But Adelle’s finding it hard to tell the truth . . . and there will be no going back once she does.

In the wake of deeply personal grief and loss, two women reckon with a lifetime of silence and secrets to find a path forward toward healing, hope, and restoration.

Robin W. Pearson’s writing sprouts from her Southern upbringing, her belief in Jesus Christ, and her love of her husband, seven children, and their dog, Oscar. Her novels are “rooted in the soul of the story” and include her Christy Award–winning debut, A Long Time Comin’, as well as ’Til I Want No More, Walking in Tall Weeds, and her latest, Dysfunction Junction. Robin has corrected grammar up and down the East Coast in her career as an author and editor and in her calling as a homeschooling mama of many. She loves to share about her faith and her family through her fiction; her blog, Mommy Concentrated; and at conferences such as Breathe, Fiction Readers Summit, and Vision Christian Writers; and with her friends and followers. These people and experiences are the source of all the characters living and breathing in the stories waiting to be told about her belief in Jesus Christ and the experiences at her own kitchen sink.

My Impressions:

The Stories We Carry by Robin W. Pearson is a layered and complex novel that uses its unique southern voice to convey universal themes. Set primarily in a bookstore in a small town, it appealed to my bookworm tendencies — all the books are mentioned. 😉 The sense of place is strong, but it was the characters, main and secondary, that made the novel. They resonated with me, as they struggled for truth, justice, and redemption through the lens of the stories they have told themselves over and over. Glory Pryor opened her bookstore to give to others what she couldn’t give to her long lost brother. Many years later, Adelle Simonette comes to town grieving so many losses and determined to reclaim what she views as her right. The two women are oil and vinegar right from the start, even though Glory’s husband takes Adelle under his wing and Adelle’s son claims Glory’s heart. Secondary characters love both women, though Adelle and Glory just can’t see why. There is a lot of tension, and the two characters’ intertwining stories are slowly revealed in a way that keeps the reader wanting more and more. It sure kept me turning the pages furiously. But if you are tempted to rush to find out what is going on (as I was), please slow down. So many nuggets of wisdom and grace and love are shared. Though not someone who re-reads books often, The Stories We Carry is one that is still calling me to savor it yet again.

The Stories We Carry left me wanting to curl up in Glory’s happy place and find the peace that Pearson shares. Grab a friend and read it together. You are going to want to talk about this book!

Highly recommended.

Great for Book Clubs.

Audience: adults.

(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)