The Truth About Us by Dalene Flannigan

  What happens when the past catches up to the present and the truth surfaces?  Three women, roommates back in college, find their lives forever altered when one of them feels compelled to confess the secret sin of their past.

And whose truth is it?

'The Truth About Us' weaves the past and the present in a page-turner that explores the shifting quality of truth, and the cost of secrets.

Dalene Flannigan

"For many years I thought my parents were teasing me when they said, "you were born in the rottenrow". But, turns out, I was born in the Rottenrow.

Rottenrow is a street in Glasgow, Scotland, and the address of the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital (nicknamed by locals as "The Rottenrow").

It explains so much."

Dalene Flannigan, a Canadian writer, was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

Her full length plays include 'Rescuing Elephants' and 'A Mournful Rustling' - winner of the Playwrights of Spring New Play Award and finalist in The Samuel French Canadian Playwrights Contest.

She has written, Unheard Voices--an award-winning video on Hard-of-Hearing issues, and, Let's Make it Clear...Clear Communication and Hearing Loss--winner of the Barbara Jordan Media Award.

She lives in Toronto and is working on a new novel.

You can connect with Dalene at http://www.daleneflannigan.com

A few quotes that stood out:

          “Hate is not a nice word. If you don’t like something – fine. You could say you prefer something else but don’t say ‘hate’. It’s not very ladylike.”

          “And what if I had been heavier back then, stronger and more muscular, as I am now? It still would have happened. Well, I suppose Jason might not have asked me out in the first place.”

          “She didn’t care what went on inside that motel room-that was just sex. This was the betrayal; this joyful anticipation that propelled him to the second floor of the Super 8. A private detective might present her with grainy photographs of her husband rolling around in bed, groping, kissing, pumping, but that would not slice her as neatly as his bouncy jog up the stairs.”

          “Only when she pulled into her driveway and turned off her car did she realize she had driven ten miles without consciously thinking, mentally stalled…”

          “Poor Erica, and probably Grace as well, did not have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. They did not have the enlightened teachings of Paster Smith to show them the truth. Jude would have to give them time.”

          “Erica ran her tongue along her upper teeth, something Jude knew she did when she was contemplating her next words, when she prepared her mouth for battle.”

          “She always started with the givens. Firstly, she knew that Jude was a screwed-up pain in the ass. Given. Secondly, Jude was going to speak to Jason’s sister. Unless Jude lost Jesus again, this seemed to be a given. Thirdly, the sister would, most likely…”

My Review:

          What is it about the truth, or for that matter, the secrets, that seem to haunt us until we give in to the need to purge? Why is it we think we can cleanse ourselves if we reveal our secrets of the past, no matter the consequences to anyone else? Who gives us the right to make this decision?

          “Three women, roommates back in college, find their lives forever altered when one of them feels compelled to confess the secret sin of their past.”

          The author wrote a fast-paced book intertwining the past and the present that keeps you on your toes; and just when you think you have figured out a secret, another one surfaces.

          “Did you hear me Erica? I have found Jesus.” “I didn’t know he was missing.” Jude sighed into the phone.”
          “Dear Grace: I know this is out of the blue. I need to talk to you. Jude has found Jesus and insists that she must now walk the path of truth.”

          The characters were interesting and diverse. You have Jude, who is a selfish person with a religious obsession. There is Erica, whose life is a complete disaster and who has trouble coping with life. And, then there is Grace, who like her name, is strong and steadfast.


         “My mother tried. She painted my bedroom pink and put me in ballet when I was four but even then she knew she had picked the wrong name. A Grace should be graceful, should be one of those tiny, sparrow girls who run on tiptoe preparing for the inevitability of high heels.”

          Clarity of the book for me came in the final few pages. I look back and see how the decisions made in the heat of a moment far outreach that moment. The ripples in the water continuously send out ripples. I felt the book definitely had a message its reader.

          If I were to choose a book to compare it to, I would choose the Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Not because of the topic of the book, but because of the similarities in how decisions we make affect the rest of our lives and those around us.

If you thought my review was helpful, please consider clicking on the link below and voting "yes" on my review at Amazon. Thanks!!

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1JBK5NUI3TUOL/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00642CEB6&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=

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