The Story She Left Behind

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, addiction, child abuse, and bullying.

At two o’clock in the morning, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham rows away from her house on the May River. She’s sad to leave her daughter, Clara Harrington, and her husband, Timothy Harrington, but feels that this is her only choice considering the recent fire. She studies the sky and water, reflecting on her unknown future.

Twenty-five years later, Clara is living back in her childhood home. She works as a teacher and children’s book illustrator. While painting one day, she studies the landscape and remembers the night her mother, Bronwyn, disappeared. She was only eight, and it happened shortly after a house fire. Now, she has an eight-year-old, Wynnie. Realizing the time, Clara pushes away her memories to prepare for her newspaper interview with Margo. Margo is doing a story on Clara winning the Caldecott Award.

Clara heads through the yard to meet Margo, studying her home as she goes. During the interview, she tells Margo about working with Eliza Walker, the author whose stories she illustrates. The publisher found Clara’s work years prior and connected her with Eliza.