An emotional debut for fans of Elizabeth Strout and Diane Chamberlain, The Ones We Keep follows the splintered lives of four family members in the years following an unthinkable tragedy, and the choices they must make to find their way back to each other.

One family. One tragedy. One incredible decision to change their fate.

A quiet lakeside resort in Vermont seems like the perfect summer getaway for Olivia and Harry Somerville and their three young boys. But in a single moment, their idyllic family retreat becomes a mother's worst nightmare. Returning from a solo hike one afternoon, Olivia learns from a passing stranger that one of her sons has drowned—but not which one.

In that moment, Olivia makes a panicked decision that will change her family forever.

If she never knows which son has drowned, can Olivia convince herself that none of them have? By shielding herself from reality, can she continue to live in a world where all three boys are still alive?

An emotional and heartfelt meditation on the nature of loss, the gift of recovery, and the bonds of love, The Ones We Keep tells the story of one family as they learn to face their grief and fight for hope.

Your next gripping book club read exploring the depths of a mother's love, the endurance of family, and the mind-bending paths we take to shield ourselves from heartache.

Bobbie Jean Huff's profile page

BOBBIE HUFF is a Canadian American currently living in New Jersey. She has published stories, poems, and humorous essays in Quarry, Event, Athos, New Ohio Review, and The Globe and Mail.

"In one calamitous moment of loss and denial, Olivia Somerville walks out the back door of grief into a life untethered but far from free. The Ones We Keep tracks her journey, interspersed with the journeys of those she left behind, until a second momentous calamity cracks opens the door to a possibility of return. Bobbie Jean Huff thinks us through the unthinkable with grace and unwavering confidence in this riveting story that is wrenching and tender in equal parts, and in the end so deeply satisfying." — Tim Wynne-Jones, author of The Emperor of Any Place

"An elegantly written examination of our ability to control our memories and our grief for the sake of survival." — Jamie Harrison, award-winning author of The Widow Nash and The Center of Everything

"Bobbie Jean Huff leads the reader sure-footedly through three decades in the life of a family torn apart by a tragic accident, to a moving and uplifting ending." — Jane Rogers, author of Mr. Wroe’s Virgins