What I Leave Behind

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Synopsis

“An artful exercise in melancholy…Every reader will love openhearted Will.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Haunting, introspective.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Emotionally raw…[A] piercing narrative.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“McGhee artfully illustrates the tangled web wherein grief intertwines with the mundane.” —BCCB


After his dad dies of suicide, Will tries to overcome his own misery by secretly helping the people around him in this exquisitely crafted story made up of one hundred chapters of one hundred words each, by award-winning and bestselling author Alison McGhee.

Sixteen-year-old Will spends most of his days the same way: Working at the Dollar Only store, trying to replicate his late father’s famous cornbread recipe, and walking the streets of Los Angeles. Will started walking after his father committed suicide, and three years later he hasn’t stopped. But there are some places Will can’t walk by: The blessings store with the chest of 100 Chinese blessings in the back, the bridge on Fourth Street where his father died, and his childhood friend Playa’s house.

When Will learns Playa was raped at a party—a party he was at, where he saw Playa, and where he believes he could have stopped the worst from happening if he hadn’t left early—it spurs Will to stop being complacent in his own sadness and do some good in the world. He begins to leave small gifts for everyone in his life, from Superman the homeless guy he passes on his way to work, to the Little Butterfly Dude he walks by on the way home, to Playa herself. And it is through those acts of kindness that Will is finally able to push past his own trauma and truly begin to live his life again. Oh, and discover the truth about that cornbread.

Chapters

  • WhatILeaveBehind 01 Open

    Duration: 22s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 02 Dedication

    Duration: 10s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 03

    Duration: 43s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 04

    Duration: 55s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 05

    Duration: 48s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 06

    Duration: 51s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 07

    Duration: 51s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 08

    Duration: 56s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 09

    Duration: 44s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 10

    Duration: 51s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 100

    Duration: 53s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 101

    Duration: 46s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 102

    Duration: 01min
  • WhatILeaveBehind 103 Credits

    Duration: 52s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 11

    Duration: 51s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 12

    Duration: 52s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 13

    Duration: 44s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 14

    Duration: 53s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 15

    Duration: 52s
  • WhatILeaveBehind 16

    Duration: 47s
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