IT'S ALWAYS BEEN ME

In Megan Walrod’s debut novel, a woman rediscovers her dreams after returning to her roots amid personal upheaval.

When Sabina Bell’s rockstar husband Reece abruptly delivers the news that he has cheated on her, her world is shaken. She packs up her stuff and heads to her best friend Mel’s house, but soon her life veers off course again when she receives a call alerting her that her beloved Nana is in the ICU. Sabina drops everything, leaving her life in Los Angeles behind to be by her grandmother’s side in Santa Cruz. With distance from the crazy world of music that Reece had led her into, Sabina realizes just how many dreams she has pushed aside in order to support his. She begins painting again, reconnects with her childhood belief in selkies and mermaids, and even runs into a lost love from her teen years. Staying at her Nana’s seaside cottage reinvigorates Sabina and inspires her to re-examine her marriage, her relationship with her parents, and everything that she’d resigned herself to. (It will come as no surprise to readers that Walrod is a female empowerment coach by profession.) Sabina as a heroine is inherently likable, and she is surrounded by a strong cast of supporting characters—mostly women—who support her rediscovery of herself. The narrative is refreshingly not so romance-focused; Sabina takes her Nana’s advice “to stop making the dream of happily-ever-after all about a man,” and the frisson of attraction she feels toward past love Graham is confined to a side plot. However, the constantly iterated motifs of selkies and water are sometimes a little overwhelming—the selkies’ purpose seems to be providing an omniscient voice to push Sabina along, but perhaps the device would be more effective if employed less frequently. Still, it brings something novel and dreamlike to the story and adds a unique aspect to the reawakening of Sabina’s artistic expression and understanding.

A soothing portrayal of self-discovery for readers who enjoy relatable female characters.