What We Left Unsaid

Thirty years ago, Alex, Bonnie and Kevin went on a road trip to the Grand Canyon with their parents. But something happened on that trip that cut it short. They never made it there. And their mother was never the same again.

Now, Alex, Bonnie and Kevin might be siblings, but they've grown apart, each holding heavy secrets close to their chests. When their mother takes a turn for the worse, asking them to relive that old road trip to see her, they're forced into close quarters once more.

As the siblings begin the drive, old memories and new secrets stir, tensions hitched as they find themselves driving through small towns where the locals aren't used to people who look like them.

What really happened to their mother on that road trip all those years ago? And what are the new truths each sibling is afraid to say? As they retrace old steps on a sweeping journey, the siblings are forced to finally learn the truth about each other, and the truth of what happened to their mother.

With "powerful and beautiful writing" (Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author), Winnie M Li weaves an emotive and eye-opening exploration of family, race, growing up, and what it means to be American.

A poignant, affecting novel, both intimate and sweeping in its range. Wrapped up in a story of family secrets and the traumatic legacy of silence is a deeper meditation on third culture children navigating the intersection of race, identity and politics and what it means to be a modern American. A timely, confronting conversation starter of a book.

-- Wiz Wharton
A road trip takes three siblings across America - the intricate landscape that faces them all, though, is the turbulent dynamics of family and memory. Heartbreaking, beautiful and confronting. This is a wonderful new direction from the author of Complicit Sarah Winman
A truly gripping and moving exploration of siblings and the secrets we keep from the people closest to us - all of it set against the unexpected twists and turns of an American road trip. The characters are so richly developed, the sibling dynamic so realistic, the glimpse of America so insightful. I was hooked' - Libby Page, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lido
This sweeping novel takes us on a journey of heartbreak and hope across a hidden America, and kept me enthralled until the very last page - Rowan Coleman, Sunday Times bestselling author of Summer of Impossible Things
I loved this book. It captured the complex dynamics of sibling relationships absolutely brilliantly. And it portrayed the multilayered experience of being an immigrant and the child of immigrants, of loving your country and yet never quite feeling as if you belong there. The Route 66 road trip is a symbol of a fractured America but also a still-vital dream of unity - in politics and in families, too. It was heartbreaking and hopeful and it spoke to me deeply. Julie Cohen

A poignant, affecting novel, both intimate and sweeping in its range. Wrapped up in a story of family secrets and the traumatic legacy of silence is a deeper meditation on third culture children navigating the intersection of race, identity and politics and what it means to be a modern American. A timely, confronting conversation starter of a book.

-- Wiz Wharton

Winnie M Li is an author and activist. A Harvard graduate, she previously wrote for travel guide books, produced independent feature films, and programmed for film festivals. Driven by her own experience of rape, she founded Clear Lines, the UK's first festival addressing sexual assault and consent through the arts and discussion, and began her PhD research at the LSE. She has an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland in recognition of her work. Winnie lives somewhere in traveling distance of London, with her partner and toddler.

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