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The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson
The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson: A Novel | Ellen Baker
4 posts | 9 read | 3 to read
"A family secret, a DNA test, a journey as rich and colorful as the early-day circus itself. Through Cecily Larson's hidden life, Ellen Baker tenderly examines personal determination, lost love, family ties, and our innate need to discover our own truth." -- Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours and Before and After Orphan Train meets Before We Were Yours meets Water for Elephants in this compelling multigenerational novel of survival, love, and the families we make. In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson's mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she's made enough money to support both Cecily and herself. But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the "little sister" to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the rest of the circus, Cecily finally feels she's found the family she craves. But as the years go by, the cracks in her little world begin to show. And when teenage Cecily meets and falls in love with a young roustabout named Lucky, she finds her life thrown onto an entirely unexpected--and dangerous--course. In 2015, Cecily is now 94 and living a quiet life in Minnesota, with her daughter, granddaughter, and great-grandson. But when her family decides to surprise her with an at-home DNA test, the unexpected results not only bring to light the tragic love story that Cecily has kept hidden for decades but also throw into question everything about the family she's raised and claimed as her own for nearly seventy years. Cecily and everyone in her life must now decide who they really are and what family--and forgiveness--really mean. Sweeping through a long period of contemporary history, The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson is an immersive, compelling, and entertaining family drama centered around one remarkable woman and her determination to survive.
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HettyG
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This is really a very sweet story. It also made me think about how much more common “open adoption” is these days (lots on this topic in my last book “Relinquished”) and how maybe it‘s not so much because it‘s the right thing to do, but also because it‘s just not optional anymore. With DNA testing the truth will out, anyone keeping an adoption a secret is sitting on a ticking time bomb.
Also, I would like to learn to make Cecily‘s 15 layer cake!

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marleed
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I think the cover art here is misleading. Although a Midwest 19th circus is the origin story of a 4-generation Minnesota family, this is much more about the potential discoveries to be found when submitting your DNA sample to an ancestory company. I find that fascinating because 👇

marleed A close friend‘s (in her 60s) dad is an octogenarian who always knew he was adopted but was never inclined to find out more. Well, my friend leaves nothing to mystery. Through ancestory.com she‘s connected her dad to half siblings and she continues to communicate with newfound cousins 3 states away. 👇 9mo
marleed And if that wasn‘t enough, she knew a deceased maternal aunt gave up a child many years ago. She found that child and found 3 additional half-siblings- all 1/2 to each other. She contacted all 4 and invited them (and some of their adult children) to her beautiful home where they all travelled to meet for the first time. The siblings met again last weekend and another trip is already planned for the summer. 9mo
Aimeesue Wow! What a great story. Curiousity leads to amazing things! 9mo
marleed @Aimeesue It‘s crazy to find such close relations on one side of a family, but that she got 1/2 siblings together on both her maternal and paternal sides is just unbelievable! I could listen to her for hours because those connections make her so incredibly happy. 9mo
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kissmehardy
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What a great read! I love how the nonlinear narrative worked and how all the plot threads came together at the end. Cecily was a fascinating if VERY naive character early on, and I was just so happy that she got her happy ending. Probably a good book club book! #historicalfiction

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