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In Leah's Wake

by Terri Giuliano Long (Goodreads Author)

3.16 of 5 stars 3.16 · rating details · 1,583 ratings · 349 reviews

A Story of Love, Loss, Connection, and Grace

At the heart of the seemingly perfect Tyler family stands sixteen-year-old Leah. Her proud parents are happily married, successful professionals. Her adoring younger sister is wise and responsible beyond her years. And Leah herself is a talented athlete with a bright collegiate future. But living out her father’s lost dreams, and...more

Paperback, 354 pages

Published October 1st 2010 by Createspace

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Jul 19, 2011 Leah Petersen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary

In Leah's Wake is a timeless look at teenagers, families, marriages, and what happens when you put them all together in a cage and let them have at each other. (OK, maybe not exactly that...)

Now I've never known of a Leah who was a know-it-all, rebellious teen, but I suppose it could happen. (*ahem*) But where this book really hits home is the truth in it. It takes the timeless story of growing up and loving and being loved, and it looks at it from four different angles: Will, the father and bre...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Emlyn Chand added it · review of another edition

Zoe and Will Tyler led the perfect life in suburbia—a beautiful home, established careers, two sweet and talented daughters.

Their eldest, Leah, was widely considered the best soccer player in the state of Massachusetts; she was right on track for receiving an Ivy league scholarship, and from there, no one had any doubt that she’d live the perfect, privileged life.

Their younger daughter Justine was far more responsible than seemed possible for her twelve years. An excellent student, she was set o...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Krystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is painfully honest. What happens when a perfect daughter decides to completely change her life? What are the consequences for the rest of her family and siblings? The reader will be introduced to the concept of extreme irony in this novel-the foremost being that the mother of the wayward daughter is a teacher who promotes the best possible futures for others' children. The daughter meets a secondary character, Todd, and her life disintegrates from there. The reader will wonder at the...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Maria rated it 4 of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review. I rated it 4.5 Stars :

With the message that growing pains are as difficult on parents as they are on children, Terri Giuliano Long gives us In Leah's Wake. An emotionally engaging tale with complex characters, realistic and occasionally frank dialogue, and a well paced plot, this take on modern family life in suburbia deals with teenage rebellion and a marriage in crisis. It was more than what I ex...more I received a complimentary copy as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review. I rated it 4.5 Stars :

With the message that growing pains are as difficult on parents as they are on children, Terri Giuliano Long gives us In Leah's Wake. An emotionally engaging tale with complex characters, realistic and occasionally frank dialogue, and a well paced plot, this take on modern family life in suburbia deals with teenage rebellion and a marriage in crisis. It was more than what I expected.

A picture of the typical American family, Will, Zoe, Leah and Justine Tyler are a family in flux. Allowing distance and a lack of communication to grow between them, Will and Zoe find themselves unprepared for the challenges of dealing with a rebellious teen bent on testing all of the boundaries in their lives. When Leah, their 16 year old daughter goes from being the star of the soccer team and an above average student to skipping class, smoking weed and hanging out with the wrong crowd, Will becomes the parent who believes in ultimate discipline while Zoe wants to try a laid back approach to try to get in touch with the girl she used to be. Almost ignoring their younger daughter, Justine, Will and Zoe soon find themselves at odds with each other and with both of their kids.

Giving us insight into the mind of all four main characters, Ms. Long gives her characters one challenge after another. While open and honest communication is what they all desperately need, Will, Zoe, Leah and even Justine, are caught in an emotional roller coaster full of accusations, guilt, anger and loneliness. Taking the reader along for the ride, Ms. Long treats the reader to all of the emotional angst these characters suffers. There were actually times where I wanted to put them all in a room, tie each of them to a chair and force them to talk and really listen to each other. Of course there were also plenty of times when I wanted to lock Leah in her room and throw away the key.

Will Will and Zoe be able to resolve their problems before their family life goes up in smoke? Will Leah realize the destructive path she's been on will only lead to something worse? You'll have to read In Leah's Wake to find out.

(less)

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Nov 19, 2012 Ruth Hill rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books

I will tell you upfront that this is a heart-wrenching tale. It is clear that this book is not one of those "good-feeling" young adult books. It is cold, brutal, and at times, hopeless. At times, I found myself thinking about my own daughter. She's not a teen yet, but she will be there before I know it. And some of the situations detailed in this book made me wonder if I would ever have to deal with these kinds of issues. I can only hope and pray that I have raised her right, and I leave her in...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Dora rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this book by accident but as soon as i read the blurb i knew i had to read it. Something similar happened in my family -- that something didn’t involve drugs -- but we suffered from the same destructive effects. My family never recovered so i wasn't expecting a happily-ever-after ending. What drew me in was my identification with Justine but i stayed, pulled in by the rest of the characters as they struggled with their pain and frustration and their lack of control . I think that Terri L...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Rachael Woohoo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, 2012-favorites, all-time-favorites, book, ebook, review-copy, reviewed, romance, ebooks-i-own, july-2012

Disclaimer: The fact that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review has not affected my rating. This review expresses my honest opinions.

If you look at my recent ratings on Goodreads, lately I’ve been handing out lots of overall ratings of 5’s or 4’s. I feel like I’m just reading so many quality books right now, they all deserve these ratings. Luckily, In Leah’s Wake is one of those books, that I feel definitely deserves a rating of 5 stars.

The plot is definitely not s...more Disclaimer: The fact that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review has not affected my rating. This review expresses my honest opinions.

If you look at my recent ratings on Goodreads, lately I’ve been handing out lots of overall ratings of 5’s or 4’s. I feel like I’m just reading so many quality books right now, they all deserve these ratings. Luckily, In Leah’s Wake is one of those books, that I feel definitely deserves a rating of 5 stars.

The plot is definitely not slow, although I didn’t find that there were much surprises in there either. I wouldn’t say it was predictable though either –the book is amazingly realistic, so something like this happens almost all the time in real life. However, I found that the characters were what truly brought the book out.

Usually, I criticize authors about using too many POVs – then it feels like there are too many characters, and that none are fully developed. Apparently, Terri Guiliano Long can. She uses a total of 5 POVs – Leah, Justine (younger sister), Will (father), Zoe (mother), and Jerry (policeman). Being a teenage YA reader, obviously I connect much more towards Leah (18) and Justine (12, I think). However, I also felt for the adults, Zoe especially. Their pain definitely seemed realistic to me, and it was all just raw emotion, and I was probably on the verge of tears (sorry, emotional teenager here…). If you’re looking for a book with solid, emotional and real characters, than this book’s definitely for you – most books only have a few, and this book has at least five.

Although I found all the characters intriguing, I actually found Justine the most interesting. She definitely admires her older sister, despite all the wrongdoings she might have committed. In fact, she even goes to the point of drinking and smoking in middle school. I’m from a neighborhood where almost all the teenagers want a 4.0, so it might be a tad different for me, but I think almost everyone can agree that smoking and drinking in middle school is not a good thing, although it is realistic. I’m not saying this book is inappropriate (well, except for younger readers, but not for more older readers) – I’m saying that Justine has so much pain, and so much real emotion, it’s almost painful. (view spoiler)

The relationships between the characters are also amazing. The Tylers seemed a bit fickle – at one point they could seem like a “normal”, loving family, and the next, screaming at each other. They did all love each other – in fact, they say so and do so all the time – it’s just that no family’s perfect, and sometimes in the wrong situations and conditions, everything turns for the worse.

Overall, In Leah’s Wake is simply an amazing book, with complex characters and relationships, blended in with lots of emotion. I definitely recommend this for parents and teenagers alike – both parties can learn something about the other and maybe about themselves. (On a cautionary note, if sex, drugs, smoking, drinking, etc. offend you, this book’s not for you. Personally, I found those elements to be realistic in their lives, so I didn’t mind, but if you do, I suggest something without as much, like Courtney Summer’s works.)(less)

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Jul 13, 2012 LuAnn rated it 4 of 5 stars

It’s the nightmare every parent dreads. Their wonderful daughter suddenly turns wrong – drugs, sex, brushes with the law. Yet, they still loved her and tried everything they could to bring her back. Unfortunately, like many families, her behavior was driving a wedge between all the members, from her mother and father to the younger sister who feels in the middle of the battle, unsure of where her loyalties should lie.
Superbly written, this story will touch the heart of those who read it in many...more

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May 10, 2012 Amie Louellen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I usually like to start off a review with a summary, but every time I tried to narrow down what In Leah’s Wake is about, I found myself telling the entire story. Yes, In Leah’s Wake is that powerful. Let’s just say it’s a story of a family in trouble–BIG trouble. To everyone on the outside, the Tylers appear to have the perfect life, but as Leah rebels, the tapestry of their carefully woven existence starts to unravel.
As a parent to a pre-teen, I cringed when Leah snuck out, each time she tried...more

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May 06, 2012 Literary rated it 5 of 5 stars

In Leah's Wake is the story of the Tyler family. The oldest daughter, Leah, has always been the star soccer player, but feels the pressures of her father taking over the enjoyment of the game. As her life revolves around practices, the next game, and scholarships, Leah meets Todd, and a whole new life opens up. As she begins to see more of him, she slowly spirals into a life of parties, drugs, and lies. When her parents attempt to step in, they can't agree on the right approach and their family...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wavered on whether to give this book two or three stars..I ended up with three, because it was engrossing if not exactly well written. It needed a good editor between mispellings and errors, including that the author mispelled Kurt Cobain's name. (Really? She doesn't look that old!). I have to say that reading the book felt like watching a train wreck. The characters were not likable and were more cliched than realistic. Leah, we are told over and over again although we see no evidence of this...more I wavered on whether to give this book two or three stars..I ended up with three, because it was engrossing if not exactly well written. It needed a good editor between mispellings and errors, including that the author mispelled Kurt Cobain's name. (Really? She doesn't look that old!). I have to say that reading the book felt like watching a train wreck. The characters were not likable and were more cliched than realistic. Leah, we are told over and over again although we see no evidence of this, is a very smart girl who gets in to trouble after hooking up with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. This book relied on stereotypes and typical scenarios. Frankly, Leah never came across as that intelligent to me. She seemed like a very average teenaged girl who was a little light on creative thought. She's a soccer star because Daddy wants her to be. Daddy is the stereotypical father who works too much and cheats on his wife when she has a traumatic forced abortion for medical reasons. Zoe, the wifey stays with him anyway because she believes it best for her daughters. Meanwhile, both parents work too much, not really paying attention to who their daughters are, instead seeing them as they believe them to be. Even though Daddy was a folk guitarist when they met, Zoe is horrified to find out that her daughter is dating a boy who used to be a roadie in a rock band. Zoe is very judgemental throughout the book, in that way snobby not too bright left wingers always are. This makes her very isolated, as she fears sharing her personal problems with anyone except a male married cop who harbors a secret attraction for her. There are a lot of places in this novel where the continuity is very bad and just little plotlines that aren't resolved.

I don't know if this is really a realistic portrayal of a formerly perfect girl gone bad. More like a girl who feels ignored is striking out at society and her parents conformity by dating a bad boy who eventually gets her in to trouble. I think the underlying story is more the decay of the modern family- two parents too busy working and worrying about their own fullfillment to pay real attention to their daughter, peers too worried about getting high or stealing clothes from local shops, schools too intent on teaching white guilt and tearing down our heros (in the beginning a confused Leah thinks about Columbus being more of an imperialist than an explorer, showing the type of revisionist history aimed at breaking down our formerly proud heritage that today's kids are subjected to in the name of diversity). It's no wonder that average kids have problems when they have no real authority figures to look up to. Society itself is broken, so of course that is translating to individuals.

Interesting read, better than much of the mass produced fiction. (less)

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Mar 04, 2012 Tracy Riva rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: family-conflict, coming-of-age, rites-of-passage, literary-fiction, contemporary-fiction

In Leah’s Wake
By Terri Giuliano Long
Published by Inspired Quill Publishing
ISBN/SKU: 0615608329 ISBN Complete: 978-0-615-60832-7 Paperback $15.95 eBook $2.99

In Leah’s Wake is an astounding story of a family in transition due to the troubling changes in their daughter Leah. Leah, once captain of the soccer team and an A student has begun a slow downward slide into the dark world of drugs. She has a boyfriend, Todd, who was busted for drugs in the past and who her parents have warned her about, dem...more

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Dec 26, 2011 Sarah Butland rated it 5 of 5 stars

Although I found In Leah's Wake slow to get into the brilliance in the heartbreaking window pulled at my heartstrings and kept me reading. Further into the book these situations got closer together and ever more hauntingly real.

Although I haven't ever been in Leah's position I've felt like she did many times and her sister Justine, in many ways, was me.

In Leah's Wake follows a family who could be your neighbour, your friend, or you as two loving parents question their child-raising decisions as...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Allizabeth Collins rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Description:

Will and Zoe Tyler have been blessed with a beautiful home, successful careers, a loving relationship, and two talented daughters on their way to leading wonderful and fulfilled lives. Leah, 16, is a model student and soccer star in line for an Ivy League education; and Justine, 12, follows in her sister's footsteps with high marks in school, aspirations of becoming a doctor, and an unshakable faith. It seems that this family is as close as it can get to perfection, until Will's wor...more Description:

Will and Zoe Tyler have been blessed with a beautiful home, successful careers, a loving relationship, and two talented daughters on their way to leading wonderful and fulfilled lives. Leah, 16, is a model student and soccer star in line for an Ivy League education; and Justine, 12, follows in her sister's footsteps with high marks in school, aspirations of becoming a doctor, and an unshakable faith. It seems that this family is as close as it can get to perfection, until Will's work begins causing problems and Leah starts dating Todd, a drug dealer and high-school dropout. Unfortunately, Leah's infatuation with her new boyfriend introduces her to drugs, theft, sex, and underage drinking, and by the time her parents find out, (and freak out), she has already chosen to side with Todd. Now everything her parents and sister say to her pushes her further away from them and deeper into her teenage cycle of rebellion, leading to her expulsion from the soccer team and the loss of her scholarship. After several failed attempts to bring their daughter back, Will and Zoe are at their breaking points, and so is their once happy marriage, but the trouble is just beginning. Justine feels that Leah is getting all of the family's attention and that she is being ignored; so she begins to act out like Leah, and eventually starts to question the goals and beliefs she once held so dear. Can the Tyler family somehow stay together and find a way to bring their daughters back to them?

Review:

Being a fan of real-life family dramas, I immediately signed up to read and review this book, and I am glad that I did. In Leah's Wake is the story of a once happy family and the decisions that lead them into chaos. The characters are very life-like and multidimensional, often bringing a whole new level of reality to the text. Leah's struggle with family versus love / Justine's battle with being seen and with her faith are detailed and full of raw emotion. The dialogue was well-written, but I did get confused a couple times when the chapters shifted to another speaker unexpectedly. I don't know what it was, but this book was frustrating in some respect; I constantly wanted to grab the characters and tell them what to do, because they seemed oblivious and unable to make the right decisions, especially Will and Zoe, but I think that the author wanted to get that response from the reader. The plot was alright, but I didn't see as much progression as I would have liked, and the ending left me wondering what would become of the Tyler family. Just like in real life, you never know what's to come, and that's one of the messages I got from In Leah's Wake. The book was a frightening yet hopeful look into teen rebellion that made me think about family and the choices a person makes in life that can effect it. I recommend this book to teens and their parents, and those who like a good family drama. I will be eagerly waiting for Terri Giuliano Long's next book, Nowhere to Run.

Rating: Bounty's Out (3.75/5)

*** I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. (less)

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Dec 13, 2011 Bonnie Wheeler rated it 5 of 5 stars

So, I just finished my fall '11 semester at UConn where I am a senior and the first thing I wanted to do after my last final exam last night was to sit down with a novel of my chosing. I had read the interviews and guest blogs regarding "In Leah's Wake" and truly hoped that the novel would be the perfect way to begin my winter vacation. Let me just say, Giuliano's literary novel did not dissapoint.

"In Leah's Wake" brings us into the small personal world of one little family that has struggled b...more So, I just finished my fall '11 semester at UConn where I am a senior and the first thing I wanted to do after my last final exam last night was to sit down with a novel of my chosing. I had read the interviews and guest blogs regarding "In Leah's Wake" and truly hoped that the novel would be the perfect way to begin my winter vacation. Let me just say, Giuliano's literary novel did not dissapoint.

"In Leah's Wake" brings us into the small personal world of one little family that has struggled behind the scenes with their oldest daughter Leah's radical change in behavior. Going from a straight A student and star soccer player with her choice of colleges trying to recruit her to drinking, drug use, and reckless behavior - Leah struggles to create her own identity that is separate from that of the one her parents have always driven her to obtain.

The roller coaster of family drama taxes Will and Zoe's marriage which has never been a relationship of ease. One of the most haunting aspects is the unnoticed pain and suffering experienced by their youngest daughter, Justine. The reader becomes so engrossed in this family that their heart aches for this child - for all of them really - but especially Justine. Even when her beloved pet Dog dies, her grief and isolation pour off the pages.

Writing from five points of view, the author has created a distinct suspension of disbelief that makes you feel caught up in their world, buying into the tragedy that so many families in this country can identify with. Her ability to create characters who are so perfectly flawed that you can't help but love them is a true gift. She has fully dimenional characters with layers that do not feel flat in any way. The reader wants resolution, wants to see this family reunite, wants the family to recognize how very much they love each other - because the reader feels they know these people as well as themselves. A true writing talent I think.

Of course, I cannot write a review without commenting on the author's beautiful use of prose. I love her attention to detail, creating setting so vivid, one feels like they are there. Whether in a cold Maine hotel or a smoke filled room, the author brings her surroundings to life with the use of all senses.

Overall, if I could, I would give this novel 6 out of 5 stars. If you love Jodi Picoult or Alice Sebold - I highly recommend this novel. It is easily the best read that I have enjoyed in 2011.(less)

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Nov 26, 2011 Elemillia Ucselub rated it 5 of 5 stars

Against all the interruptions that life comes with, you will NOT want to put this book down. You will find yourself fighting to finish this novel. First and foremost it is a book that is RELEVANT in today's society and culture. It is significant to the mystery of the teenage life of our youth, to the structure of the households of America, and to the spirituality of our being. While this book is filled with human struggles that we all carry with us through life, whether young or older, it has op...more Against all the interruptions that life comes with, you will NOT want to put this book down. You will find yourself fighting to finish this novel. First and foremost it is a book that is RELEVANT in today's society and culture. It is significant to the mystery of the teenage life of our youth, to the structure of the households of America, and to the spirituality of our being. While this book is filled with human struggles that we all carry with us through life, whether young or older, it has optimism and hope that in the end brings people together to find strength and love within themselves and in each other.

If you feel the need to be convinced the ending has enough detail to leave you curious for more. Take a peak and you shall see! It is, in fact, one book you can tell quite a detailed lot about the story through its ending. You find a young girl in a pretty sticky situation who isn't allowing herself to reach out to her mother for money, but instead makes it clear to her boyfriend that they are on their own and so they should make it on their own. You know immediately, this is a strong-headed individual teen. The next thing you notice though, is that she's surrounded by the wrong crowd consisting of alcohol, drugs, partying, law-breaking, hiding. How did it get to this point? Where is her family? Who are the individuals around her? Is she just a troubled kid, lost? A peak at her family informs you that she doesn't come from a horrible family, but in fact a pretty up-standing family who care and think about the condition of her life. How did they affect her life? What was the turning point in which Leah took matters into her own hands? Was there one turning point or was it a series of events? What were they? What were the elements that lead to the series of events which in turn lead to the end result? What is it about teenagers that makes them individualistically egocentric and yet so vulnerable and mindlessly empowered? Above and beyond the mere pleasure of reading a novel such as this is the opportunity of having a platform off of which to discuss these powerful questions.(less)

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Sep 13, 2011 Jess rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

For 99 cents in the Nook store, I figured this would be worth a shot, and I'm glad I gave it a try. Overall, it was light reading with an emotionally resonant core and some truly memorable characters.

In this tale of a "perfect" daughter's slide into rebellion, the author has a terrific grasp of teenagers' emotions and logic, and scenes where parents and children talk past each other are wrenchingly real. At many points, it felt like Leah was finally ready to reconcile with her parents and put a...more

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Aug 17, 2011 L.M. Stull rated it 5 of 5 stars

If I was told that I could use only one word to express how this book made me feel, it would be “WOW.”

As a writer, to be rendered nearly speechless is usually not a good sign. This book did just that. In Leah's Wake may be a fictional story, but it speaks about everyday situations. The story follows the journey and struggles of not only a teenager trying to find her own path in life, but that of her parents as well. Leah's family and life spirals out of control at nearly the onset of the novel...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Tammy rated it 4 of 5 stars

There are many character’s that I could see myself in this book. When my daughter was in her young teens she was exactly like Leah in the book. Thankfully some of the thing's Leah does my daughter has not. Watching Leah act out towards her parents, and thinking some awful thought's about her parent's made me remember my teenage years and my daughter's before we began homeschooling her. I feel the way Terri describes Leah's actions and watching her go downhill; I feel that everyone will see a lit...more There are many character’s that I could see myself in this book. When my daughter was in her young teens she was exactly like Leah in the book. Thankfully some of the thing's Leah does my daughter has not. Watching Leah act out towards her parents, and thinking some awful thought's about her parent's made me remember my teenage years and my daughter's before we began homeschooling her. I feel the way Terri describes Leah's actions and watching her go downhill; I feel that everyone will see a little bit of themselves in Leah. It is really easy to see the story as it unfolds; Terri did an excellent job of keeping on point and showing how a young woman can get herself into trouble before they know it.

The other character I was able to identify with would be Justine. She reminds me of my son, the one who has to sit back and watch his older sibling get in trouble; parents fighting over how to save Leah from herself. Also Justine wants to try and break free herself but at the same time try and hold together a family that is being torn apart. You can also see how a younger sibling wants to break free of the hold the family has of the older sibling, wanting the family to move on and fight no more; the agony of choosing sides either the parents or their sibling.

The way Terri started the plot was extremely good. I must say that I felt like the book dragged on a bit in places. I feel sometimes she spent too much time on Leah and her boyfriend instead of the rest of the characters in the book. I would have liked to see a bit more storyline for Justine, the mom and the dad and Officer Johnson. Besides that bit of story plot I believe she did wonderful, Terri made sure to keep you turning the page and wanting to know more. You felt for the kids in the story, and you wonder why the parent's let things go to far.

The book played with my emotion's throughout the book. There were times I was laughing and times where I was upset and one part of the book had me crying, again. Seems like all the book's I am reading of late is making me cry! I feel that Terri get's you within the book and you feel like you are part of the book, you are there within the story living it out as well as the characters within the book. This is a great book to get and put in your collection. I also feel this would be a really good book for young adults. If you were to allow a teenager to read this book I would have to give it a 13-PG book only because of swears, some drug action, drinking, and some sexual mentioning.

****I was given a copy of the book for my honest review****(less)

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Aug 16, 2011 aobibliophile™ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. - Jane Howard

Leah Tyler is not your average teen. she is a star football player and her school work is brilliant . her father Will and her mother Zoe could not have been more proud to have a daughter like her. her sister Justine looks up to her, too. everything seemed perfect for Leah until she gets involved with Todd Corbett and his crowd. suddenly, her future and that of h...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Sandra Stiles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, realistic-fiction, young-adult

The family that seems like they have it all together can be very dysfunctional. No matter what your profession, when your family is having problems, everyone in the family is affected. Leah was the member of the family who seemed to have everything. That is until she met her boyfriend. Instead of pulling him up to her standards, she lowered her own. She started drinking, smoking and doing drugs. Then she is kicked off of the soccer team. Leah makes one bad decision after another. She blames ever...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Natalie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Review: In Leah's Wake by Terri Giuliano Long
Synopsis provided by Goodreads

The Tyler family had the perfect life – until sixteen-year-old Leah decided she didn’t want to be perfect anymore.

While Zoe and Will fight to save their daughter from destroying her brilliant future, Leah’s younger sister, Justine, must cope with the damage her out-of-control sibling leaves in her wake.

Will this family survive? What happens when love just isn’t enough?

Jodi Picoult fans will love this beautifully writt...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Jenny O. rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’m one of those crazy moms who started worrying about my oldest daughter’s boyfriends before she was even born. When my younger daughter went through a phase at two years where she would yank off her diaper and gleefully streak through the house, I hoped it wasn’t a sign of things to come. Parents worry. They go through those anxiety filled nights, after watching the news, where they wonder what they would do if their child was in a car accident, or raped, or robbed. And they dread even more th...more I’m one of those crazy moms who started worrying about my oldest daughter’s boyfriends before she was even born. When my younger daughter went through a phase at two years where she would yank off her diaper and gleefully streak through the house, I hoped it wasn’t a sign of things to come. Parents worry. They go through those anxiety filled nights, after watching the news, where they wonder what they would do if their child was in a car accident, or raped, or robbed. And they dread even more the opposite occurrence, that their child is the drunk driver, or the rapist, or the robber.
Because we all know, without being told, that though infancy is more physically demanding on parents-- the sleep deprived nights, the fear inducing croup coughs, the bumps and falls from learning to walk—it’s nothing compared to those terrifying moments when your teenager walks out that front door and it doesn’t matter how much you love and want to protect them, anything can happen. Anything.
Sometimes the most worrying comes from remembering the trouble we gave our own parents. The lies we told, the reckless friends we hung out with, the alcohol drenched parties we went to, the poor choices we made.
Most of it came from trying to assert our independence. Our individuality. We thought we deserved the right to rebel. Our parents put too much pressure on us. They foisted their own unfulfilled dreams onto our shoulders and we reeled under the weight. Sometimes it was because they didn’t pay us enough attention, and we looked for it where we could. Sometimes we just wanted someone to hear us out, instead of barking orders and making demands.
And now that we’re parents, we wonder where we are failing, where we are pushing, where we are alienating.
Terry Guiliano Long’s In Leah’s Wake draws a fictional portrait of the dismantling of a family that begins when the teenage Leah suddenly veers off the path, into full force rebellion. A soccer star slated for the Ivy League, she misses practice and begins dating Todd, a football player turned troublemaker. As she delves into drugs and sex, her grades take a turn for the worse, and she drops off communication with her friends. Despite their best efforts to draw Leah back into the family, parents Zoe and Will only succeed in pushing her closer to Todd and his wayward friends.
Leah’s self-destruction brings out the differences between Zoe and Will as well: Will is determined to run interference until Leah sees Todd for the creep he is, and Zoe wants to give Leah space so that she can come to her own realizations about what she’s doing. When neither approach works, each parent blames the other, and all the old resentments and weaknesses of their marriage surface.
Meanwhile, Justine, Leah’s 12 year old sister, deals with the fallout of Leah’s actions. She has to fend for herself as her father stays away from home and her mother sinks into a depression. She is rock in the family, trying to bring Leah back home, trying to take care of her mother, and trying to get her father to see that his overbearing approach is only making things worse.
Long, draws a skillful portrait of a family and each member of it. Zoe’s joy in conducting self-help workshops for the women in the community. Will’s drive and ambitions for his daughter, and the decline of his business. Justine’s wish for her family to be what it once was. Each character brims with life, with longing, with hope.
But what Guiliano Long does best is to nudge us to recognize ourselves in Will and Zoe. To give us that perspective to recognize the small decisions that we make that form chasms between us and our children. To remind us that we were there once, too. We were young. We wanted our independence, and sometimes that need drove us to some desperate measures, some dead end roads, and some destructive relationships.
I can’t recommend this enough for any parent, but especially for parents of young girls.
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Jun 06, 2011 Dax Macgregor added it

In her début novel, In Leah’s Wake, Terri Giuliano Long takes the reader through a family’s emotional trauma as one of the daughters, a high school athletic star, suddenly abandons her straight-arrow, team captain ideals for a drug-dealing boyfriend’s party lifestyle.

Leah Tyler, captain of the high school soccer team, has a bright future. Clearly the best player in the state, she’s virtually guaranteed a full scholarship at any number of universities. Her Dad aspires for her to attend Harvard an...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Holding my daughters for the first time, watching them absorb the world around them, smelling their sweet breath, I pictured a fairytale future. My vision of them held details of first steps, first boyfriends, college, marriage and eventually grandchildren. A lifetime of accomplishments mixed in with minor disappointments, disappointments that would only strengthen them to be the amazing women I know they will be. I pictured sharing this joy with my best friend and partner, my husband.

I didn’t...more

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May 30, 2011 M.B. Mulhall rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I first read the synopsis for In Leah’s Wake, it struck me as interesting, but I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to relate. Being single and childless left me thinking it would be a good story but I might not walk away with the kind of reaction the author was hoping for. That idea changed as I got further into the book. Perhaps I don’t have children of my own, but I do deal with kids on a daily basis and I hope that I am teaching them good life lessons. Also, I found I knew variations of...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Cynthia Harrison rated it 5 of 5 stars

The allusive title in Terri Giuliano Long’s debut novel, In Leah’s Wake, contemplates a variety of connotations, multiple ripples of meaning which contribute to the overall intensity of this deeply moving psychological family drama.

For this particular work, I like Oxford’s definition of a “wake” as “turbulent air left behind by a body in flight.” The body in flight here is Harvard-bound soccer star Leah. What she is flying from is her youth, her innocence, and her father’s insistence that she do...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Urban Fantasy Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

To see this review and more like it please check out my site www.ufreviews.com

I read this book as a part of Novel Publicity's week long promotion of this book. It's not in my normal genre that I review, but I wanted to give it a try because let's face it even once in a while you need to read a book that is out of the norm for you. I think there is a lot you can say about this book, if you want really delve deep and analyze each other characters you certainly could. If you wanted to find a chara...more To see this review and more like it please check out my site www.ufreviews.com

I read this book as a part of Novel Publicity's week long promotion of this book. It's not in my normal genre that I review, but I wanted to give it a try because let's face it even once in a while you need to read a book that is out of the norm for you. I think there is a lot you can say about this book, if you want really delve deep and analyze each other characters you certainly could. If you wanted to find a character you could identify with, there are a wide range in this book, so I believe everyone could find at least one person to identify with.

To start with I want to say this book, for the vast majority of it, is not a feel good type of book. I think most people want to believe there family is doing well, and when it turns out that it's not the case it's hard on everyone. Leah is a rebellious teenager who's action have a huge impact of every person in her family. When I look back at my own teenage years, I know I was not the best of kids. I know I put my parents through a lot, but never was I to the point that Leah was, and for that I am thankful. And while I can certainly identify with her to a point, because I did rebel as well, I often times found myself thinking she is one of the most selfish girls I have read. She honestly has no care for how anything she does affects anyone else, and even when she has moments of clarity, where she knows she was wrong in her actions, all it takes is for five minutes to pass by before she passed all the blame to someone else and takes off. I can honestly say that when it was told from her point of view, especially towards the end I had a hard time reading her, because I just wanted to send her to one of those bad kid camps and be done with it (not the best impulse but hey I had had enough of her selfishness).

The character I felt the worst for throughout the book was Justine. Justine is Leah's younger sister, and honestly she was left out in the cold over and over again. Their parents thought Justine was a good student, never got into any trouble, and so the focused mainly on Leah. And when Leah started going down the wrong path, Justine didn't understand why everyone was being mean to Leah, she only ever heard Leah's side of the story. Her parents really needed to sit her down and explain everything to her.

The parents in the story, Zoe and Will, go through a terrible time. They are each doing the best they can do, working, pushing Leah to do well, and genuinely just trying to make sure their girls have a good upbringing and set them up for a good future. Unfortunately jobs involve a lot of time, quality time with kids diminish, and things start falling through the cracks. By the time Leah is in trouble neither parent knows how to help her. If I had to pick one think they needed to do as parents was get on the same page. It seemed like the spent more time arguing with each other than coming up with a plan, and when they did have a plan, Will's temper always got in the way of the follow through.

Overall, I felt like this book is well written, and a testament of what can happen to families no matter how much money a family has. There were point in the book I could have done without, I felt like sometimes the author got on a tangent that wasn't needed to progress the story. But besides that I felt like it was a good read, and I think it will make the people who read it really think about their own lives, and perhaps, feel a little bit grateful for my own life after reading this story.(less)

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Dec 12, 2011 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My first thought about In Leah's Wake was that it was a slow start but I soon found myself engrossed in the pages. I wanted to find out more about why the family falls apart and why Leah acts the way she does.

My first thought about Leah was that she was selfish for acting the way she did, but the further I got into the book I realised that the actions she did may have been selfish, but all the pressure that was put upon her from her Father had some cause in it all. When she starts mixing with th...more

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Aug 17, 2011 SATIN SUE rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About Terri Giuliano Long

Terri Giuliano Long grew up in the company of stories both of her own making and as written by others. Books offer her a zest for life’s highs and comfort in its lows. She’s all-too-happy to share this love with others as a novelist and as a lecturer at Boston College.

While her passion lies in the written word, Terri’s primary inspiration comes from her interest in existential philosophy and her o...more

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“With sports, you have no time to reflect. You just do.” — 4 people liked it

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