I Never Told You

THEY ARE BEST FRIENDS AS MUCH AS MOTHER AND DAUGHTER. EACH HAS A SECRET THAT COULD DESTROY THAT BOND.

Small-town dress shop owner Anna's daughter Katya leaves home for art school in September 1965. After that, nothing in their loving and devoted relationship is ever quite the same.

Anna and her long-time lover Dave, who is married, first enjoy the freedom of Katya's absence until some threatening exposures move Anna to initiate a break-up. Her biggest fear is that Katya will learn of the affair. Instead of offering the peace of mind Anna hoped the split would bring, the separation brings frightening and dangerous results.

Away at art school, Katya is both thrilled and distressed by her attraction to fellow art student Paulette. Nothing in her protected small-town childhood has prepared her for being attracted to another girl. When they get to know each other in irresistible and frightening ways, Katya's biggest fear is that her mother will find out.

Inevitably, the worst happens and mother and daughter learn each other's secrets. Both react with hurt and anger and a desire never to see each other again. Can they regain their former devotion to one another or are they doomed to live out their lives bitter and unforgiving?

"This confection of a tale is spun with the technicolor dreams and nightmares of a teenaged girl named Katya on her way toward self-realization... The plot turns on many tantalizing events, expertly woven together and shot through with bright descriptive writing. Vivid characters quicken the plot and unwind the wraps on the mother/daughter secrets. I Never Told You is a lovely story of Katya and her mother."--Mary Howard, author of Whiteout and The Girl with Wings.

"I Never Told You is a thought-provoking debut about betrayal, secrets, forgiveness, and forbidden identities. Set in the mid-1960s, and moving seamlessly between small-town culture and the flamboyance of Hollywood, it's the story of a mother and a daughter struggling--despite themselves--to find acceptance and love."--Barbara Claypole White, bestselling author of The Perfect Son and The Promise Between Us

"Bernie Brown knows how to spin a tale. Set in the 1960s, her debut novel offers readers a fresh and lively love story and mother/daughter drama woven through with a terrible tragedy from the past. At the same time, Brown bravely tackles prejudices and human dilemmas that continue to entangle us today. A captivating book from beginning to end." --Elaine Neil Orr, bestselling author of Swimming Between Worlds

Katya took her by the shoulders. "Mom, talk to me."

Anna erupted. "What about? About your friend?" she said with scorn. "About how I shamed you in front of all your friends? About how I said things I should never have said. Saw things I wish I had never seen." She stopped shouting. In a small voice she said, "I saw you and that woman. I saw you. I don't know what this means, Katya. Tell me what this means." Hot tears flooded her cheeks.