Spun Stories ~ Tales from the Past

“The author…adeptly summons the era in all its manners and details with her descriptive prose…Her omniscient, third-person narrator effectively flits through the heads of various characters, offering momentary glimpses of their inner lives.”

“Farewell My Life by Cynthia Sally Haggard is three books in one; The Lost Mother, An Unsuitable Suitor, and Farewell My Life. However, it is the storyline of one family through a few decades starting at the end of the Great War.

“I really enjoyed these books, it was a hefty book also but broken up well between the three. I also liked that the author did skip ahead years for the last one, and did not waste time with boring, non-relevant information just to get to where she needed in time. I enjoyed how it was written amongst the different characters viewpoints, and it wove together well.”

“Farewell My Life is a coming of age period drama, the book is set in between World War I and World War II.
Written in third person narration the author has creatively set the novel into three distinctive parts. The opening of the book is set in Georgetown, Washington DC
Angelina, a single mother to Violent and Grace is the black sheep of the Pagano family. She does not follow the norm, her morals are questionable to say the least. A chance meeting leads her to introducing handsome Nicholas Russell to her daughters. This sets in motion some dramatic events, when Mr. Russell’s attraction toward Angelina’s younger daughter Grace becomes sinisterly obsessive. To escape the unnerving clutches of Mr. Russell, Grace’s family take her to Berlin Germany, where she can study violin with the greatest teacher of the day. But in Berlin, they encounter the turbulent political climate leading up to the beginning World War II.
Exquisitely written with vibrant characters this book left a lasting impression on me. The author has written a heartfelt, moving, powerful, thought-provoking book, one that is definitely going to be a reread for me as the writer’s voice is so captivating. I really enjoyed the well researched content historical events interwoven with fictional characters.”