Ask a Bookseller: A novel to spark book club conversation

Updated: July 27, 11:23 a.m.

Megan Wells of The Willow Bookstore in Perham, Minn., recommended "a beautiful, heartbreaking” novel, "If Only I Could Tell You" by Hannah Beckerman.

A book cover of "If Only I Could Tell You"
"If Only I Could Tell You" by Hannah Beckerman
Courtesy of William Morrow Paperbacks

Audrey's grown daughters have not spoken for years — for reasons she's never clearly known. Now, faced with a cancer diagnosis, she is determined to see her family repaired. Told from mother and both daughters' points of view in a story that spans three decades, the novel spools out small revelations on the way to revealing the event that caused the sisters to break apart.

Wells recommends the novel for book clubs, adding that the ending is sure to stir up conversation as readers debate what they would have done in Audrey's shoes.

Correction (July 27, 2021): An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled the location of The Willow Bookstore. The article has been updated.

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