Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and author Emily Bleeker for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

I approached When We Chased the Light not realizing it was actually the second book of a duology. This was fine, really, because it stands well on its own and Emily Bleeker recounts events in the previous book that have an impact here enough so the reader won’t be lost. The story is one of choices and contains depictions of domestic abuse, drug use, mental illness, and suicide.

The story is told in a flashback as the effects of legendary Hollywood star Vivian Snow are up for auction at Christie’s Auction House. Of particular interest are a series of hand-drawn postcards sent to Vivian from an Italian priest who was once in a POW Camp near Vivian’s hometown in Indiana. Vivian was part of the USO at the camp who helped arrange entertainment for the prisoners. Father Trombello became her closest confidante, supporting her throughout her life and keeping her secrets.

Vivian has a promising career as an entertainer when she finds out she is pregnant with her missing husband’s child. A journalist traveling with the USO creates a story about the missing husband, painting him as a war hero so the questions about his disappearance will end. Vivian’s career takes off and Hollywood calls. She leaves the child, Grace, behind in Indiana with her younger sister and father as she films her first movie. When she receives a call that her father is dying, the Director, Glenn Carver, steps in to help her out.

Despite the warning signs, Vivian finds herself in a relationship with Glenn. He’s emotionally abusive, cutting her off from all support, and insanely jealous of the postcards she receives from Father Trombello. He also refuses to allow Vivian’s sister, Aria, and Grace to move into the house with them, keeping them in a bungalow nearby.

I suppose the author wanted readers to feel sympathy for Vivian, but I had a hard time with that. She stands up to her agent and others who don’t want her to interrupt her career to give birth to her daughter, but other than that she’s a weak character. Granted, some of it is the product of the times. However, she never seems to put her daughter first in her thoughts. It’s either her career or a man that seems to take precedence over raising the child. Vivian takes it for granted that her sister will be there to help while she’s off traveling the world or at Hollywood parties. Aria is Grace’s mother more than Vivian, and that’s her choice. I had a hard time feeling any sympathy for her.

Vivian allows her choices to affect Aria as well. Aria is frightened of Glenn and refuses to be in the same house as him, even after he finally relents and allows them to move in. At this point, his emotional abuse is evident and yet Vivian moves Grace in with them. She doesn’t try to protect her daughter from his emotional abuse. Instead, Vivian seems to be more intent on creating a mother-daughter team of actresses and the publicity that gives her as she ages. It’s only when she is confronted with the undeniable consequences of Glenn’s behavior that she finally stands up to him.

She leans on Father Trombello again and again throughout the book. She spends nights talking to him long distance as she deals with the abuse in her marriage. Father Trombello urges her to leave Glenn; he can see what is happening to her even if she can’t. When Glenn forces her to stop talking to the priest, he becomes frantic and tries to contact her through her sister. All the while, he’s back in Italy, tending to his priestly duties there.

I couldn’t find myself rooting for Vivian. Her choices were poorly made again and again. When the relationship with her daughter fractures, she doesn’t understand why. I certainly could, seeing the choices she made to put everything else first. She takes everyone around her for granted, especially her sister and daughter. How Father Trombello stood beside her as long as he did, caught between his vows and his heart’s desire is the real story. He keeps his feet in two worlds, and it’s safe enough to do that with an ocean and then some between them.

That said, When We Chased the Light isn’t a bad story. It highlights how mental illness took a toll on families at a time when it was seen as a weakness of character. Vivian and Aria’s mother suffered from post-partum depression that no one recognized back in the day. Aria and Vivian both have issues with their mental health that flare up from time to time, although some of Aria’s issues are due to the burdens Vivian places on her, she’s also suffering due to her identity. It’s never said overtly, but I could read between the lines what she was struggling with. This all is depicted very well.

Even for a Hollywood star, it was hard to escape an abusive marriage. I do think there would have been more support for Vivian had she actually contacted a lawyer, but she is also caught up in the morality of being Roman Catholic and what a divorce would mean. Imagine how hard it was at this time for our ancestors. I know my grandmother was not in a healthy marriage and had no way of escaping.

When We Chased the Light is an interesting book as it depicts a time that some people would like to see us return to, where women didn’t have the rights they have now and had little protection under the law. Although I feel like Vivian could have made better choices, some of what happens is endemic to the period. The characters are well-developed, even if I found most of them to not be likable.