The Man I Thought You Were

By: Leah Mercer

Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan, Heather Wilds

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

One fine autumn evening, Anna returns from work and starts making dinner, eager to welcome home her husband, Mark. It's just like any other day in their ten-year, Pinterest-perfect marriage—until he says he's leaving her.

Discovering that the man she thought she knew better than anyone else is capable of abandoning it all sends Anna reeling. She believed the life they'd built together—and the bright future they'd imagined—counted for everything. How can he walk away?

The truth is Mark is battling secrets of his own—secrets Anna knows nothing about. A painful past and an uncertain future threaten to bring his life down around him—and he'll do anything not to expose her to that.

But unravelling the past is lonelier than Mark could ever have imagined and, as the days turn to months, Anna worries the separation will break them forever. Can she bring him back from the brink of self-destruction before it's too late, or will she discover that she never really knew him at all?

©2017 Leah Mercer (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

Gripping story, Excellent performance

With the exception of occasional foul words, I loved this book. But I’m not sure if I would have loved it as much without the voice actors. They made it come alive.

Very good!

I really enjoyed it! Very interesting story! Very different than most books. Definitely worth it, I found it really made me think.

Review

I despised Mark! His character was weak and whiny. Richard is truly the hero in the story.

Veey moving story

Anna and Mark are happily married, but they live in an solated and exclusive world, devoid of friends, family or outside influences. However, Mark has many secrets he's been hiding from his wife, secrets which make him feel guilty and unworthy of his wife's love. A life changing event happens, and he is unable to cope, so he runs away. His past is ruining his chance of happiness in the present. It was a very sad and at times frustrating story. i found it hard to feel engaged or sympathise with the main characters on many occasions, but it is well plotted and written and i certainly wanted to keep turning the pages to the end, which is sad but satisfactory.

Holding Back to.Hold on

The premise of this novel sounds as if it could be a heartpounding thriller: husband enters flat, stars he is leaving, not to look for him. Wife sits stunned while the onions burn and pursues the man she loves. In this book instead of a long list of misdeeds the wife discovers the past pain her husband has always hidden and how loss breaks down certainty. And now it restores it. Well paced and insightful , this is worth the time and the contemplation.

Good read

What made the experience of listening to The Man I Thought You Were the most enjoyable?

I could feel Anna's pain when Mark left her and how hard she tried to find him. The scene where Anna finds Mark at the clinic tore me up.

What did you like best about this story?

The intense feelings the narrators portrayed.

Have you listened to any of Napoleon Ryan and Heather Wilds ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

As soon as I read this book I read "Who We Were Before" and I want to know when Leah Mercer' s next book is coming out.

get your tissues!!!!

This is a roller coaster ride of emotions, so well written ,I was feeling the sadness, joy, and anguish of the characters! I was listening at work and have totally ruined my makeup and used an entire box of tissues! my favorite audible book yet!!!

Good story; terrible performance.

This was a good book, but I really struggled to listen to the female narrator. She has no expression, and breaks sentences into odd fragments. I would really hesitate to listen to another book she narrates.

Odd Book

I can’t say I hated the book, but it is rather pointless. It is the opposite of what marriage should be. While I realize not all couples grow closer during difficult times, to leave your spouse like the husband did with no explanation was odd.

10 chapters too long

To me this book was monotonous, repetitive and annoying. I found myself saying enough already get on with it. Did not enjoy it and was glad when it was over.