Kelly Rimmer has absolutely outdone herself in her newest
groundbreaking story -- strongly worded, cautionary and
honest to a fault. BEFORE I LET YOU GO is raw and
unerringly truthful. Do not expect to put this book down
until you get to the very last page. BEFORE I LET YOU GO is
that compelling.
Pregnant and a drug addict -- truly unbelievable and scorned
by all polite society. And yet there is a chasm in our
world that treats these issues as criminal and punishable.
Annie is pregnant and a drug addict. Her world couldn't be
harsher and painful and yet it will be. Lexie is Annie's older
sister. Pretty much a trivialized description of their
relationship as Lexie has for years looked over her younger
sister. They were a team. They hung on to each other as a
lifesaver in a world that had become sad and scary. No
matter what Annie did she could and would depend on her
Lexie. And then Annie's world dissolved into an
unfathomable mess of tremendous proportions.
For several years now Annie has been on her own. Lexie
moved on with her life and career, met Sam and they were
planning on getting married. Both medical professionals
with busy lives. Annie and Lexie have been estranged from
each other and their mother and step father for years now.
None of the Vidler women ever truly recovered from the bone
chilling grief of their father's death. It was that moment
that would forever alter their universe. And this is the
story told in BEFORE I LET YOU GO.
After their father's death, Annie and Lexie became members
of a strict religious community with their mother. The
compelling reason for joining this sect was to help their
mother cope. No one could ever have realized the damage
that would happen to this family. Silence is golden. Under
the cloche of religion reality is skewed. There were three
F's that kept people in the community: fear, finances and
family. This was the environment of the young Annie and
Lexie. Together they managed until the fateful day that
Lexie left behind Annie to escape the confines of a society
that tethers girls to a strict moral discipline that
crippled any source of imagination or ambition.
The story is told in narratives mostly by Annie and Lexie
to clearly illustrate where their lives are now and where
they had come from. Harsh, but honest. Both Annie and Lexie
talk about capitulating to demands. Neither of them are
very good at that. The burning question is who is the
stronger of these sisters. The brave foolish one or the one
who goes along in the hellish situation these sisters found
themselves.
Keeping the peace. Ah, a noble goal. Tough not to take sides
in this story. Each character sort of demands that you
listen to their tale. Important though to not pass
judgment.
The title of this book is somewhat prophetic. Which you
won't realize for quite many pages. Part of the writing
talent and creative genius of Kelly Rimmer. Throughout
BEFORE I LET YOU GO we are engaged in communication between
several characters. In the beginning, you think that we are
in the past. Then the big aha moment, which I will not spoil
for you. I will say that moment is jaw dropping.
Kudos
to Kelly Rimmer. I am not surprised. That's why she is one
of my must read authors. I covet everything I've read by
her and wait somewhat impatiently for the next great story.
The next great group of characters. And she never
disappoints. And in BEFORE I LET YOU GO, Kelly Rimmer makes
you stop and think. Think hard about the fact that she has
hammered in a message here. One you won't forget and
perhaps leave you with something to chew on. Amazing and
enlightening and entertaining, Kelly Rimmer at her best.
That's why she has garnered quite a following.
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.