While I Was Gone

By Sue Miller

Book Overview

"Riveting . . . While I Was Gone [celebrates] what is impulsive in human nature." The New York Times "Miller weaves her themes of secrecy, betrayal, and forgiveness into a narrative that shines." Time Jo Becker has every reason to be content. She has three dynamic daughters, a loving marriage, and a rewarding career. But she feels a sense of unease. Then an old housemate reappears, sending Jo back to a distant past when she lived in a communal house in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Drawn deeper into her memories of that fateful summer in 1968, Jo begins to obsess about the person she once was. As she is pulled farther from her present life, her husband, and her world, Jo struggles against becoming enveloped by her past and its dark secret. "[While I Was Gone] swoops gracefully between the past and the present, between a woman's complex feelings about her husband and her equally complex fantasiesand fearsabout another man. . . . [Miller writes] well about the trials of faith." The New York Times Book Review "Quietly gripping . . . Jo shines steadily as the flawed and thoroughly modern heroine. As in her 1986 novel, The Good Mother, Miller shows how impulses can fracture the family." USA Today "Marvelous . . . poignant . . . powerful." Seattle Times/Post Intelligencer

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345443284
• ISBN13: 9780345443281
• Release Date: August 1970
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic yet real

I absolutely loved this novel. The fact that Jo was such astrong woman, who had accomplished so much, was key. But the best part for me was some of Sue's writing, in which she/Jo expressed feelings I've had but have not been able to put into words. They were REAL feelings/fears/revelations, even in the context of this fictional work. It really blew me away. I've tried other Sue Miller books and not been as connected; this one really hit home for me.

What a GREAT book!

I was SO surprised to read this fantastic book! I savored the descriptions and felt just like I was there. This book made me think about my life and family and appreciate everything so much. It's one of those thought provoking novels that opens your eyes to many things. Forgiveness, love and it's realities, family.... I felt so much while reading this - I'll go read her other books now. I feel SO LUCKY.

What a beautifully written, heartbreaking novel this is!

I can't understand some of the earlier reviews... Sue Miller has written a beautiful, haunting, heartbreaking story which interweaves a woman's past and present lives, and combines intelligent, mature writing and an entirely realistic storyline that could happen to anyone who was young and searching for him/herself in the 60s. The author's writing is absolutely exquisite... the phrasing of her sentences is so subtly nuanced that one must read paragraphs again just to appreciate and enjoy the sheer beauty of them.