Spotlight and Giveaway: The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson

We are pleased to feature Ellen Baker's latest novel, The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson, today. It released earlier this week and it looks and sounds amazing. Thanks to William Morrow, we have THREE copies to give away!

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.

“The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson is a sprawling, beautiful delight of a novel spanning nearly a century as four generations gradually peel back the layers of long-buried family secrets that may just change everything. Ellen Baker weaves the intricacies of family dynamics into the complicated fabric of early 20th-century America, deftly tackling issues of race, identity, loss, and trauma through the story of a family you’ll be rooting for with all your heart. I immensely enjoyed this sweeping, heartrending, emotional roller coaster of a tale, which made me laugh, cry, and think about the true meaning of family.”
—Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Daughter

“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 

“Unforgettable. Baker's electrifying tale is a haunting testament to the complex intersections of familial bonds driven by a remarkable courage which can only be found in hope.”
—Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek series

(c) Kim Fuller Photography

Ellen Baker is the author of Keeping the House and I Gave My Heart to Know This. She has worked as a bookseller and event coordinator at an independent bookstore. Originally from the Upper Midwest, she currently lives in Maine.

Visit Ellen online:
Website * Facebook 

Twitter * Instagram

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends February 27th at midnight EST.

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