Book Review: Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer

The 2:00 a.m. call is the first time Lexie Vidler has heard her sister’s voice in years. Annie is a drug addict, a thief, a liar—and in trouble, again. Lexie has always bailed Annie out, given her money, a place to sleep, sent her to every kind of rehab. But this time, she’s not just strung out—she’s pregnant and in premature labor. If she goes to the hospital, she’ll lose custody of her baby—maybe even go to prison. But the alternative is unthinkable.

As weeks unfold, Lexie finds herself caring for her fragile newborn niece while her carefully ordered life is collapsing around her. She’s in danger of losing her job, and her fiancé only has so much patience for Annie’s drama. In court-ordered rehab, Annie attempts to halt her downward spiral by confronting long-buried secrets from the sisters’ childhood, ghosts that Lexie doesn’t want to face. But will the journey heal Annie, or lead her down a darker path?

Both candid and compassionate, Before I Let You Go explores a hotly divisive topic and asks how far the ties of family love can be stretched before they finally break

Thank You to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is another one of those stories which left me breathless, it is such a powerful story that it’s taken me more than a few days to just really process everything that was going on!

Now this does have the potential for a number of trigger warnings as it deals with drug addiction, sexual abuse and drug related pregnancies, however I felt that it dealt with these in the best possible way. One of the many things that I did love was how well researched the book seems to be, the author writes in such a way that really allows you to feel what it’s like to be in the mind of an addict as well as those closest to them. It gives you the differing perspectives which adds a whole other level of understanding and why characters are reacting in the way that they do.

However that didn’t stop me flipping between rage and understanding at incredible rates, while Lexie may be a doctor, a medical professional she really had no idea on how to help her sister, no matter how hard she tried she tended to end up being an enabler more than anything, which was really difficult to read. Same with Annie, just when I think she is making progress and I want to give her a hug and tell her she’s got this, she makes another decision that makes me want to cry out in disbelief. The emotional roller-coaster was real and as much as I complain it makes for a really great read.

Now I don’t want to write too much for this one as I’m struggling to not just leave a whole lot of spoilers and a whole lot of ranting, but this is definitely a book that will make you think and stay with you long after it’s finished.

 

 

 

Rating: 4.5/5

Would I read again: Yes

Would I Recommend: Yes

Would I read another book from this author: Yes