All That Was

Separated by a century. Bonded by loss. Will examining all that was invoke comfort or calamity?

Seattle, 2015. Emily Reed refuses to dwell on her emotions. When the first-year attorney is assigned a church archival project, she dives into the records to hide from her own heartache. But when she discovers her parents were married in this very chapel, she is forced to confront the grief she buried a decade ago.

After she died in 1935, Elizabet Thomas was devastated when her beloved husband wasn’t waiting for her on the other side. A lost soul, she’s wandered their church for the past eighty years, desperate to find him. And now she must persuade a young, living lawyer that the historic building needs to be preserved rather than sold and torn down.

Discovering a diary among the disarray in the building’s basement, Emily is first engrossed and then moved by the dead woman’s words. And as the fate of her home unravels, Elizabet realizes she and the grieving archivist have more in common than she ever would have guessed.

Can Emily and Elizabet save themselves and their cherished sanctuary?

All That Was is an uplifting standalone women’s literary fiction novel deeply woven with historical elements. If you enjoy dual-perspective storylines, complex female characters, and the rekindling of lost hope, then you’ll love Tanya E Williams’s soul-stirring tale.

Title: All That Was

Author: Tanya E. Williams

Genre: Fiction /Historical

Paperback: 322 pages

Publication Date: 10/20/2020

Publisher: Rippling Effects

Language: English

ISBN-13: 9781989144121

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My Review

All That Was is the perfect title for this novel, and it means so many things: All that was of a person's life; all that was at a point in time; all that was and is no more. It's a story written most keenly with the gift of intuition in the matter of the heart, negotiating the processes of loss, growth, and perseverance.

Emily Reed is the main character in this story and is spending her first job archiving records in the basements of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Seattle which is the center of a Supreme Court case going on for removal or preservation. What Emily does not know is, that this is the very church her parents were married in 1983 and who died when she was only 16 years old.

There is an interesting story that comes to light about the church's founding that began with a group of strong-minded women in Seattle who had 10 cents leftover after the fundraising and erection of the building. The framed dime begins the conversations Emily has with Pastor Michael who has been with the church for a long time.

Emily does not realize, that there are spirits and ghosts roaming the church, though a faint whisp of perfume seems to alert her every now and then. She does not know, that Elizabet who is still grieving the loss of her husband Rupert, and Dorothea her unlikely friend and brothel owner until 1905, are watching and guiding her through diaries and nudges in the right directions in the archive.

So, why are the unlikely ghost and spirit friends have an interest in Emily? Well, for one, they are really impressed with her tenacity and work ethic, but also, because Emily seems to struggle with the loss of her parents, and working in the archives becomes the forefront of her battle in grief.

While the story alternates pov's it tells about the stories of each of these three ladies who find themselves at a threshold they cannot pass unless they can be brave enough to make peace and overcome what is holding them back.

While Emily has a boyfriend who is interested in their future, she is too closed off from him and about to lose him while she buries herself in her archiving project. When his own work sends him in different directions it is a sure sign that their relationship is on the cusp of ending.

Through generations and matters of the heart, both ugly and beautiful, these women are faced with stepping beyond their comfort to escape what has haunted them for years. Will the decision of the court battle derail their futures?

***

First off, I like anything that Williams writes. She can tell me that oat bran is the most amazing delicacy not to be missed and I will gladly eat it. Her books are written with exquisite care and emotional insight. Losing a parent or any loved one for that matter is something I had to deal with at a young adult age and I can relate to some of the turmoil Emily is going through. The bonds of loss strap you down and until you can make peace and free yourself from them it is hard to move on. A process that takes a lot of time.

Emily is a character who is falling further while working in the archive but begins to process some of those emotions she has held back for so long. In a sense, it is a coming of age story for her, as all of those years she succeeded in school were more autonomous and going through the motions without ever facing her turmoil. With the help of Elizabet and Dorothea, she now has to face the music and has no more else to run. What emerges, is a beautiful and freeing beginning in her life. A different success, a becoming of her own.

The ghost and spirit ladies were some of my favorite parts. I enjoy two timeline stories and their friendship added some banter and mystery to the entirety of the novel.

As I was reading the afterword of the author and the elements that drew this story together with real persons and events in Seattle, I wished I had known some of these facts first. It made that novel even more special.

If there is one flaw to the story, then it is the one that it was almost too emotional for me, though not necessarily unrelatable. I think a younger person would find some truths in this book that they can grasp on to and find wisdom in. I might identify myself mostly with Dorothea minus the brothel since she seems to be the one reasoning most with her situation.

If you enjoy a bit of history, mystery, and stories for and from the heart, you would really enjoy ALL THAT WAS.

Happy reading!