ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up by Laura Pearson

Posted on 19th August 2024 By Nicola

The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up by Laura Pearson is published by Boldwood and is available now in paperback, eBook and audiobook. I purchased my own copy.

You can read my reviews of Laura’s previous books, The Last List of Mabel Beaumont, I Wanted You to Know and Nobody’s Wife by clicking on the titles. I really must get round to her first book, Missing Pieces, and I have her next book, The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine on pre-order (out in September).

Brand new from the #1 bestselling author of The Last List of Mabel Beaumont comes a powerful story of memory, loss, love, and new beginnings…

When Shelley Woodhouse wakes up in hospital from a coma, the first thing she says is that her husband must be arrested.

He’s the reason she’s in here. She knows it. She remembers what he did. Clearly as anything.

But there are things Shelley has forgotten too, including parts of her childhood. And as those start to come back to her, so do other memories. Ones with the power to change everything.

But can she trust these new memories, or what anyone around her is telling her? And who is the mysterious hospital volunteer who brings her food and keeps making her smile? Is it possible to find your future when you’re confused about your past?

Having read and loved The Last List of Mabel Beaumont earlier this year, I was looking forward to a new Laura Pearson book but at the same time I wondered if anything could be as good as Mabel (the answer is yes!).

The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up is another triumph from a talented author, and it’s just as good, but quite different, to Mabel. The story begins with Shelley coming round from a coma. She’s in hospital and although confused, she knows that her husband’s actions led to the coma. As the book progresses Shelley delves deep into her mind and realises that there are things she can’t quite remember, but which start to slowly come back to her. In Now and Then chapters we follow Shelley’s recovery whilst also learning what led to her current predicament.

I won’t say any more as I enjoyed how the story unfolded with some gentle surprises along the way, but what I can say is that this is a beautifully told, emotional tale of a woman’s life. It encompasses difficult issues, particularly domestic abuse, and considers whether we repeat what we experience in childhood, despite our best intentions to avoid doing so. Although there are these thorny subjects, the story ultimately felt positive and uplifting, and a true joy to read.

The characterisations are spot on. Shelley is a brilliant creation, a protagonist I felt a lot of compassion for. I loved most of the other characters too, with a couple of notable exceptions. The writing is beautifully executed and I found this book hard to put down. It’s paced well, it made me smile and it gave me a massive lump in my throat. The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up is superb in every way.

Laura Pearson is the author of issues-based women’s fiction. She founded The Bookload on Facebook and has had several pieces published in the Guardian and the Telegraph. Her first title with Boldwood, The Last List of Mabel Beaumont, will be published in August 2023.