On The Cutting Room Floor — Part One
Cut Scenes from The Story She Left Behind
Hello my friends,
Nothing is wasted—or so we tell ourselves in the writing world when we end up putting a day’s, month’s, or even years’ worth of work into the “cut” folder or, worse, the “deleted” folder. But what do we really mean when we say this to console ourselves or each other?
This is the start of a three-part series where I’m digging out the “Cut Scenes” folder of The Story She Left Behind. There won’t be any spoilers because the novel changed so dramatically, but hopefully it will give you a taste of some of the themes and backstory that led to the novel.
Here is what I mean when we say no writing is wasted: Writing is a practice. It’s a process of discovery, a road without a predetermined destination. Writing, as Julia Cameron reminds us, is a spiritual housecleaning. Toni Morrison calls it “a way of thinking.” It is an act driven by hopefulness. Writing is a myriad of things—but is it ever wasted? Absolutely not!
Did I write pages and words that didn’t make it into my new novel, The Story She Left Behind? Yes. Thousands of words and hundreds of pages didn’t make their way into the final draft because a story demands what it demands.
Originally, The Story She Left Behind was about Barbara Newhall Follett—a child prodigy who wrote her first novel at eight years old and disappeared at twenty-six. Eventually, this novel became a story inspired by Barbara, but not about her.
We often talk about how the book we set out to write isn’t always the one that we finish writing. This is never more true than with this novel The Story She Left Behind.
In the coming weeks, as we approach the March 18th release, I’ll be sharing some of those cut pages.
Here’s the first segment…
Barbara Newhall Follet
Three Years Old.
Mother calls her inquisitive, unfathomable, and inexplicable. Barbara loves every single one of those words. Some whisper the word, prodigy. Her parents tell her over and over that she is special, a wonder.
That summer afternoon, music came from Daddy’s office, a lyrical tatatata ta ta tata. Barbara was meant to be taking a nap but she lay flat on the floor and listened to the sounds coming from the crack between the door and floor, feeling the vibration of the instrument her Daddy plays. The light from the room is lemony and weak, a long thin rectangle on the hardwood floor.
The music comes from the keys of a typewriter hitting the dark cylinder and cotton paper. Slow then fast then faster then slow. Barbara cracks open the door and watches Daddy’s head bent over the keys, his back is rounded and his shoulders slooped toward the machine. Lamplight falls on the black typewriter and it looks to Barbara as if it might rise off the table.
What is he writing?
She can read now, of course. She always could. She doesn’t remember learning how; words came whole to her mind, rising from books and pages and notes. Her parents both wrote for long swaths of their days, and if they weren’t writing they were reading or Daddy was marking up student pages with a red pencil he would flip between his fingers until he needed to scribble in the margins again.
Barbara believes they are creating the greatest magic in the world. They are making something from nothing, just like the garden she’s begged them to plant in the wide and wild backyard. Or maybe it isn’t really “nothing” for they were creating from words and the garden from seeds and soil. So there is a “something”, but something much greater than Barbara knows.
“Barbara!” Mom’s voice calls from downstairs, rising between the floor boards.
Barbara stands quietly not wanting to disturb Daddy’s creations. She walks slowly, dreamlike, running her hand along the hallway’s floral wallpaper. Down the steps and then a right down the hallway to the bright yellow kitchen where Mom has set out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into little squares with the crust cut off.
“You weren’t bothering your father were you?”
“No, Ma’am. I was just listening to him.”
“Listening?” Mom kisses Barbara on the forehead and sets down a glass of milk.
“Taatattaa ta ta ta.” Barbara says.
Mom laughs and squeezes Barbara in a hug. “Yes, that.”
“It’s music,” Barbara tells her in a stern voice as if scolding her own mom.
“Yes, darling, I guess yes it is, in a way of its own.”
Barbara takes a bite of her sandwich and feels the grape jelly burst in her mouth. She wants a word for how it feels and tastes but she doesn’t have one. She will make one up like she always does.
“Mom, I want to play that song.”
Her mom studies Barbara for a moment and then smiles. “One day you will.”
The next two installments will be posted here on Substack, and I will link to them in further newsletters!
Pre-Order the Book —and Claim Your Free Gift!
My new book will be in stores everywhere on March 18th. I’m thrilled to have gotten a couple of amazing reviews lately—one from Publishers Weekly who calls the book, “captivating,” and says, “readers will be riveted”; and another from Booklist who calls it, “whimsical,” and “an exploration of the hard choices that tear families apart and the love that sustains them.” Words of praise from fellow writers who I admire so deeply and whose work I respect immensely — like these words from Adriana Trigiani, for example — always get me right in the heart.
I hope you will pre-order the book before its on-sale date. Those early orders go such a long way in determining a book’s trajectory and signaling to the publisher and bookseller the level of demand and enthusiasm out there for a particular title. And, remember, when you pro-order The Story She Left Behind from any retailer in any format, you are eligible for a free gift from Atria. All you have to do is fill out their simple claim form and you will be emailed my digital travel journal and snail mailed a customizable library bookplate.
Join Me Online—Ask Me Anything & Win Prizes!
Join me for four weekly Facebook LIVE sessions to chat about — and to win prizes!
For four straight weeks leading up to the publication of my new book, I will be going live every Tuesday night at 7pm Eastern. Each week we will meet up on my Facebook author page to chat about the story behind the story, the real cold-case literary mystery that inspired my novel, my research into London’s Great Smog and the Lake District, and the fascinating world of imaginary languages and childhood fantasies in literature. I hope you will join me on this journey!
The first session will be on Tuesday, February 18th — just one month out from my pub date and the start of my book tour. Every Tuesday evening for four straight weeks we will dive into a new topic, I may have some special guests, and I’ll take your questions. This is your chance to Ask me anything!
Bonus! As my gift to you, my cherished readers, I’ll be giving away a new fabulous prize during each session to anyone who has pre-ordered my book and filled out Atria Book’s claim form.
More details to come as these sessions draw near. For now, MARK YOUR CALENDAR for these four Tuesdays so we can hang out together!
1. Tues., Feb. 18th
2. Tues., Feb. 25th
3. Tues., Mar 4th
4. Tues., Mar 11th
I can’t wait to hang out with you and chat about my new book!
Come See Me On Book Tour!
I’d love to see you at some of my book tour stops! I’ll be traveling all over the country beginning with a big launch party in Atlanta on St. Patrick’s Day with my three Friends & Fiction co-hosts: Mary Kay Andrews, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Kristin Harmel.
To see the full details on all of my tour stops, visit the Appearances page on my website. I hope you will mark your calendars and plan to join me when I’m in a city near you!
That’s all for now, friends. Now it’s back to tour prep and writing. Always writing.
With Love,
Patti
ABOUT PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY
New York Times Bestselling Author and Podcast Host
Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling author of seventeen novels and a podcast host. Patti is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly web show, podcast, and online community, Friends & Fiction.
She lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama with her husband. Her newest novel, THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND will be released on March 18th, 2025.
Be sure to follow Patti on social media and visit her website for the latest updates and announcements!
Oh man, Patti . . . I had never even heard of Barbara Newhall Follett! I had to look her up and what a fascinating story. If this is what you had to cut, I can't imagine how wonderful your book will be!
How wonderful! Taking the typewriter and using it in another beautiful way- I miss the sound of my 1st typewriter (I think it was a Corona.) Can't wait for this story!!