How the Light Gets In
By Joyce Maynard
William Morrow, 9780062398307. June 2025, 432 pp.
The Short of It:
Wow, wow, wow.
The Rest of It:
Following the death of her former husband, Cam, fifty-four-year-old Eleanor has moved back to the New Hampshire farm where they raised three children to care for their brain-injured son, Toby, now an adult. Toby’s older brother, Al, is married and living in Seattle with his wife; their sister, Ursula, lives in Vermont with her husband and two children. Although all appears stable, old resentments, anger, and bitterness simmer just beneath the surface. ~ Indiebound
How the Light Gets In is the follow-up to Maynard’s much loved Count the Ways. The family has grown, there are new losses to navigate. Eleanor is still Eleanor but still struggling with motherhood and marriage and what tragedy can do to a family.
In this story, it’s presented early on that Eleanor’s son Toby suffers a brain injury. Although Toby suffers in some ways, he thrives in others. He’s the most caring, loving individual and quite the qualified goat farmer. Eleanor is of course, very protective of him and that drives how she interacts with nearly everyone he meets.
This is a layered, family drama that spans the pandemic years and those very difficult election years so it is heavy in places. Maynard touches on sexual identity, infidelity, drug and alcohol use, the prevalence of school shootings, and political unrest. I feel that Maynard did her best to pack everything into this book, and by the time you turn that last page you will have been through it. It’s heavy and weighty.
There are some beautiful, quiet moments though. I think that is what most of us come to expect from Maynard and she does not disappoint.
Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.
Book Chatter 
Sounds that many emotional subjects put into one story can overwhelm, but it still sounds a good book.
It’s always strange to read books set in the recent past (i.e., Covid and the 2016 election). It almost feels too raw still. This one sounds really well don though.
I loved Count the Ways and look forward to reading this one, hopefully soon. Thanks for the review!
This is another author that for some reason I have yet to read. This sounds like a good one, but what would you recommend. Which of her books is your favorite?
Labor Day was very good. It was also made into a movie. I did love Count the Ways which is the book before How the Light Gets In. She is just a good storyteller.
I haven’t read anything by her for a very long time.
The Good Daughters is the only book by Maynard that I have read (2010). I liked it, but I didn’t love it, and I’ve skipped everything else that has come out from this author. Wow, wow, wow makes me think I am missing out!
Glad the sequel did not disappoint. She sure packs a lot into the book. Not sure I can relive the politics of 2016-2020 again, yikes. Like the goat farming though.
She is such a good writer that the election bits really come to life, as do the pandemic memories. Since we are headed into another hellish election cycle it was a bit rough to read about.
I love Count the Ways. I only barely skimmed your review since I prefer to go into a book cold. I love Joyce Maynard’s novels and have high hopes for this one. I’m glad you enjoyed it so well, Ti!
I agree. I am typically very happy with Maynard’s writing. I even enjoy her short posts on Facebook. She just knows how to tell a story.