Little Pieces of Me by Alison Hammer

Little Pieces of Me
by Alison Hammer
Published April 13th 2021 by William Morrow Paperbacks

When Paige Meyer gets an email from a DNA testing website announcing that her father is a man she never met, she is convinced there must be a mistake. But as she digs deeper into her mother's past and her own feelings of being the odd child out growing up, Paige begins to question everything she thought she knew. Could this be why Paige never felt like she fit in her family, and why her mother always seemed to keep her at an arm's length? And what does it mean for Paige's memories of her father, a man she idolized and whose death she is still grieving? Back in 1975, Betsy Kaplan, Paige's mom, is a straightlaced sophomore at the University of Kansas. When her sweet but boring boyfriend disappoints her, Betsy decides she wants more out of life, and is tired of playing it safe. Enter Andy Abrams, the golden boy on campus with a potentially devastating secret. After their night together has unexpected consequences, Betsy is determined to bury the truth and rebuild a stable life for her unborn child, whatever the cost.

When Paige can't get answers from her mother, she goes looking for the only other person who was there that night. The more she learns about what happened, the more she sees her unflappable, distant mother as a real person faced with an impossible choice. But will it be enough to mend their broken relationship?

Told in dual timelines, Little Pieces of Me examines identity and how the way we define ourselves changes (or not) through our life experiences.

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Review

5 Stars

I had no idea what I was getting into this book, someone should have warned me that I would need an entire box of tissues to get through it. This book is gosh darn BEAUTIFUL. Heartbreaking, deep, hard, and beautiful. A story of identity, family, and self-love, Little Pieces of Me by Alison Hammer is one of those books that sits inside you.

Paige took a free DNA test as part of a previous job campaign, she never expected the email that came in telling her a new match had been found and not just any match, a parent match. A parent match after the father she loved so dearly had passed. The email upends Paige's already frail life path, the only thing holding together is her two best friends and her fiance. What follows is a journey of discovery, both in the past and the present. Told from multiple perspectives and dual timelines, Alison Hammer weaves a compelling story of friendship, secrets, and truth, by taking readers into the past of Paige's mom, her best friend, and the man who just might be her father.

I cannot say enough good things about Little Pieces of Me, honestly I could ramble about it forever, but I would give way too much away. The DNA test may have turned her life upside down, but it gives Paige a chance to get to know the unflappable mother she believes she's never had a connection to. It gives her a chance to get to know who her parents and who she really is. This is a complex family drama with relatable characters and so much emotional depth that yes, you do need to be prepared with tissues.