Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite

Gerry dreamed of holding his wife and daughter in his arms.  He didn’t want to leave the warmth of the dream.   Reality waited.  His beloved wife could never return to him and his precious daughter was gone and would return only when she wanted to.  “I’ll gladly accept the worse possible moments with either of you over any moment without either of you.”  At times it seemed the sun would never shine again.  Gerry was left to raise his infant son alone.  Unexpectedly the clouds parted and the sun shone again.

Gerry hired a sitter for Reese so he could return to work.  He learned how to work the baby stroller, how to buy clothes for a baby and how to cope one day at a time.  One of the things that made work tolerable was a growing friendship with Ally.

When You Went Away is a love story. It is not your typical love story.   Michael Baron is an extremely talented author capable of convey deep emotions.  His debut book moved me to tears.  Readers watch as the lead character comes to terms with his wife’s death and his daughter’s absence.  The author’s style is low key, understated.  There is great depth in this novel.  I cannot say enough good about Baron and When You went Away.  I will be watching for more tales by this author.  If you miss this one … it is your great loss.