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The House We Grew Up In

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The House We Grew Up In

Written by: Lisa Jewell
Narrated by: Karina Fernandez
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About this listen

Meet the picture-perfect Bird family: pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and towheaded twins Rory and Rhys, one an adventurous troublemaker, the other his slighter, more sensitive counterpart. Their father is a sweet, gangly man, but it’s their beautiful, free-spirited mother Lorelei who spins at the center. In those early years, Lorelei tries to freeze time by filling their simple brick house with precious mementos. Easter egg foils are her favorite. Craft supplies, too. She hangs all of the children’s art, to her husband’s chagrin.

Then one Easter weekend, a tragedy so devastating occurs that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass and the children have become adults, while Lorelei has become the county’s worst hoarder. She has alienated her husband and children and has been living as a recluse. But then something happens that beckons the Bird family back to the house they grew up in - to finally understand the events of that long-ago Easter weekend and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.

©2013 Lisa Jewell (P)2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC
Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Tearjerking Mystery

What listeners say about The House We Grew Up In

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
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Disturbing but really well written

Normally, I don’t read many books on dysfunction. But Lisa Jewell is one of my favourite writers, so I decided to give it a try. I am so glad I read it. The author has an uncanny sense of understanding nuances of human nature.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Kiss kiss kiss Kiss kiss kiss Kiss kiss kiss

Excellent topic and interesting to enter someone’s life that has spiraled downward so easily. The characters are quite complex while seeming quite normal to outsiders at the same time. How one incident can change many people’s lives was intriguing. One downfall? Check the title of my review.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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decent story

I enjoyed this story. a few bits were very predictable, other bits came with a surprise and a giggle or 2, while parts of the tale seemed rushed or glossed over. the siblings made such a big deal about finding the password to the computer, but absolutely nothing was said about their reaction to the contents. there was no mention of the siblings' first conversation with Jim, the online lover, only that he was available for the funeral. I would have liked to have delved deeper into a few of the items

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliantly done

From beginning to end this story had me hooked. Very well done story of families in dysfunction!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing heart wrenching story

The narrator has an amazing ability with accents and voices. The story is told for maximum emotional effect. Beautiful.

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely and complicated (in a good way)

This is one of my favourite Lisa Jewell books - and I’ve read many. I love her writing and how she sprinkles humor and humanness throughout her books. This story of a mother struggling with mental health and unresolved trauma and how it impacts her children and other relationships was powerful, heartbreaking and also healing. I loved this book and highly recommend it :)

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Not a favourite

Usually enjoy this author. This one was an exception, I found it long, tedious, unnecessarily confusing but still was able to make it to the end of the story which thankfully ends on a high note given the many hours of morose and disturbing characters.

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2 people found this helpful

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Great!

I enjoyed this book and all it entails. All around suspenseful and sometimes mind blowing! I love how it connected a character from “The Truth about Melody Browne” that one wouldn’t have realized had they not read that book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

great insight into the hoarding mindset

loved almost everything about the book...great story line, good character development, very good job of narration.
I did however find the swearing over the top 😥 not necessary at all.
I have found the same with other titles this author writes.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

A bit boring

While I appreciated the different story line, I found it to be pretty flat overall. I wasn’t overly interested and found it hard to finish.

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