New Release | The Me I Left Behind: Maggie’s Story by Madeleine Jaimes #womensfiction #newrelease #mustread #bookboost #giveaway
- N. N. Light
- Jun 24
- 6 min read
Title The Me I Left Behind: Maggie’s Story
Author Madeleine Jaimes
Genre Women’s Fiction
Publisher Sand Dune Books
Book Blurb
The Tuckaway Bay books continue with Maggie’s story. You first met Maggie in Beach Therapy. Now dig deeper into her story in The Me I Left Behind—her life, her marriage, and all the secrets….
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Maggie Oliver has everything—beautiful children, a lovely home, and financial security. Her husband, Max, often reminds her of that fact. So what if he has his share of discreet dalliances?
She’d agreed to the one-sided open marriage out of her own free will, and with careful consideration. He would not give up his freedom. She needed the security he offered. Weighing the consequences, she vowed to make the arrangement work.
But when the baby came, and then two more, things changed. Max became less tolerant and increasingly abusive—emotionally and sometimes physically. Twenty years later, Maggie knows she is losing herself.
At what point did she leave herself behind? And why? She is determined to find out.
When she discovers her husband has a secret family in another country, her life quickly unravels. Then a family tragedy strikes changing everything, and Maggie’s path to finding herself takes an unexpected turn.
Excerpt
The Nor’easter that blew over the Outer Banks on Christmas Eve left them with mild temperatures and clear skies. Maggie pulled her legs up on the wooden beach chair and wrapped a blanket tighter around both her and Carol as they stared into the night.
“The stars are really bright tonight,” she whispered. “Look, there’s the big dipper.”
“And the small one, too.” Carol pointed. The two sat huddled together by the firepit at the back of the inn. “I wish I knew the names of more stars and constellations. They are really pretty out here at the beach.”
“Umhmm,” Maggie murmured. “So easy to see. Hard to imagine people all over the world looking at the same thing we are looking at right now. Isn’t it?” Times like this, Maggie realized how small their world really was. Her world, her life, her problems.
“Like dad? Can he see these same stars?”
Maggie wasn’t sure. “I don’t know. Probably not right now. I don’t know how that all works on the other side of the world.”
Carol gazed upward. “I don’t want to go home yet,” she whispered.
“Don’t you want to see your friends?”
“Not really.”
Maggie rotated toward her daughter, catching the uncertainty in her eyes. “I thought Sophie was texting you like crazy, wanting you to come home. Don’t you want to see your best friend over the holidays? Didn’t she mention a party?”
“Yeah, she did. But I’m not in the mood.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” Carol nodded. “I don’t want to be where he was. I want to stay here with you and Jason and Chloe for a while longer and not think about dad. My head is still spinning around it all. It’s like he’s not here, but I know once we get home, it will feel like he is.”
Maggie understood. Max permeated everything he touched. Whether or not he was there.
“I understand, honey. But we can’t impose on Lia and Zach for too much longer.”
Carol’s head fell against her shoulder. “Please?”
Maggie sighed and wrapped the blanket tighter around them. “All right. Two more days. I want to be home before New Year’s Eve. We have school to get ready for.”
“Okay.” Carol snuggled closer. “Thanks, Mom.”
It wasn’t like Carol to avoid her friends. Who was this child of hers right now? The Max incident seemed like a turning point for her.
And it would likely be for all of them.
“Sweetie, have you talked to him?”
Carol shook her head. “No.” She inched her arms around Maggie’s waist. “I’m not sure I want to. My head tries to sort things out. My heart is really confused.”
That statement hurt her own heart.
Carol went on. “I know you said there’ve been other women. But do you think this time, with this woman, it’s different, Mom? They have a baby. Is Dad coming home, or what?”
Good question. “I don’t know, sweetheart.”
“But if he loves her and the baby, then what? What happens to us? Me and Jason and Chloe? What happens to you?”
“Sweetheart, let’s not go there yet.” She paused, waiting to see if Carol said anything more. She didn’t.
They sat for a few minutes, gazing up into the night. The rhythm of the waves provided a steady beat behind the silence, ticking off time.
Finally, Maggie said, “Julia will look into some legal things for me, here and in Australia.” She wondered if Carol just wanted something to hang her hat on. “I don’t know what is going to happen, honey, but there are obviously some things to figure out.”
“I didn’t think about that.”
“I’m not sure I can stay married to him.”
Carol twisted in the seat and sat up slightly, searching Maggie’s face. “You mean divorce?”
Shit. Maybe too soon.
She shrugged. “Sweetheart, I don’t know. Right now, I never want to see him again.”
Carol blinked several times, then slowly nodded. “I get that. I don’t either. What I don’t get is how it all works afterward.”
“After a divorce?”
“Yeah. With all of us.” She stared. “I mean, you don’t work. How will the bills get paid? Will dad have to pay something? Child support? Will we have to move out of our house? What about school? I know it’s expensive.” She paused, glancing off, then back again. “College?”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Panic gripped Maggie’s heart. Obviously, this was worrying her. “That’s a lot to digest. I don’t know the answers to any of it, but I will say this—let us figure that out. Your dad and me. That’s not for you to worry about.”
“But I do worry. I have been. I don’t know what is going to happen in the future.”
“Do we ever, honey?”
The look behind Carol’s eyes told Maggie she was frightened. “No. And that’s scary.”
“I know.” Maggie squeezed her tighter. This uncertainty was going to be a problem. “I just don’t have answers now. Negotiating with your dad might be difficult. But Julia—”
“She’s a good lawyer, isn’t she?”
“She is.”
“She’ll screw dad over. Won’t she?”
Hell, where was Carol’s head? With a forefinger, she pushed back a strand of hair covering one of her eyes. “Honey, Julia will follow the law and do what’s best—”
Carol grasped her hand. “No, Mom. Julia needs to screw him over. Look at all he’s done! He’s totally messed up all our lives. He’s a fu*king asshole!”
They locked gazes for a moment, then burst into laughter.
They hugged and giggled, wrapping themselves up again with the blanket. After a moment, they settled back into silence.
“Even though he’s not here, it still feels like it. You know?” Carol murmured.
Maggie looked at her daughter. “He’s thousands of miles away. He can’t hurt us.”
“Really?” Carol’s eyes flared wider. “Mom, he hurts us all the time.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Google Play https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Madeleine_Jaimes_The_Me_I_Left_Behind?id=7cssEQAAQBAJ
Giveaway -
Enter to win THE women’s fiction beach read of the summer and uncover Maggie’s family secrets…
Two Grand Prize winners will win trade paperback copies of The Me I Left Behind plus promo goodies! Two runner-up winners will receive the ebook!
Runs June 23 – July 1
Winner will be drawn on July 2.
Facebook Party –
The party is all summer, at the Tuckaway Bay Beach Book Club! Come join us!
Author Biography
Madeleine Jaimes writes emotional upmarket women’s fiction, exploring the real-life, complicated issues of women and their relationships through story. She sometimes spends her time writing small town and cowboy romance as Maddie James. Learn more at www.maddiejamesbooks.com
Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MJNovelist/
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