“Both Sides of Then, is a masterclass in storytelling. Jennifer delivers a stunning meditation on love, loss, and the quiet courage it takes to begin again. A deeply human story— that lingers long after the final page.”
—Laura Munson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Is Not The Story You Think It Is: A Season of Unlikely Happiness
A gripping, deeply relatable coming-of-age book about family secrets, resilience, and the life-changing power of acceptance.
Jennifer is thirteen and living a quiet teenage existence when her parents reveal their innermost secrets; her mother has found the child she relinquished as a baby, and her father no longer wants to be part of the family.
Once she becomes a mother, she realizes her childhood could greatly influence the mother she would be to her son. As she unravels the hidden past that defined her mother’s life, Jennifer begins to see the ways silence, survival, and unresolved grief echo across generations. The discovery forces her to confront her own patterns: the tendency to disappear, the ache of abandonment, the longing to be seen.
What begins as a reckoning becomes an unexpected path toward acceptance—of herself, of the parents who raised her, and of the truth they spent years trying to outrun. Until, on his deathbed, her father revealed the missing piece to her childhood.
Both Sides of Then is a story of resilience: falling apart, piecing yourself back together, and realizing the person you’re becoming is allowed to be different from where you began. It’s about family dynamics that complicate everything, the secrets that keep us small, and the forgiveness that sets us free.
If you’ve ever carried shame, longed for healing you weren’t sure you deserved, or hoped your broken story could still turn toward love—this book will walk you there.
“A candid intergenerational story of survival, motherhood, and the fragile ties that bind families together. This book will provide a sense of validation to those who carry their own generational traumas, and powerful revelations for those who do not.”
“Griffith gives voice to the resilience of women, appraising their historical and contemporary struggles for basic rights, including autonomy over their own bodies and the freedom to choose their lives outside of motherhood and marriage. Her writing is eye-opening, thoughtful, and rooted in love.”
"It is a great act of love when a daughter works hard to fully understand her mother’s life. In Both Sides of Then, Jennifer Griffith does exactly that. This memoir chronicles a daughter making sense of her own experience by unraveling the mystery of her mother’s life. I wept, I laughed, and I wanted to call my mom after I finished this beautiful book.”
“With remarkable emotional insight and lyrical grace, Jennifer delivers a stunning meditation on heartbreak…and the quiet courage it takes to begin again. She writes with the wisdom of someone who understands that healing is rarely linear, but always possible.”
