Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Impossible Truths of Love cover art

The Impossible Truths of Love

By: Hannah Beckerman
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £22.99

Buy Now for £22.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Forgetting cover art
The Perfect Girlfriend cover art
This Child of Mine cover art
The Art of Loving You cover art
There's Something I Have to Tell You cover art
Firefly Lane cover art
Strands of Truth cover art
She's Not There cover art
The Shadow Writer cover art
The Orphan House cover art
Do You Remember? cover art
The Lost Bookshop cover art
My Only Child cover art
The New Family cover art
Happily Married cover art
A Fire Sparkling cover art

Summary

From bestselling author Hannah Beckerman comes a moving story about memory, secrets, and what it really means to feel that you’re one of the family.

“WONDERFUL. I read [it] in one gulp.” - Marian Keyes

“I LOVED this book and will be recommending it to everyone.” - Ruth Jones

“Hannah Beckerman is the real deal.” - Alex Michaelides

When Nell’s father makes a deathbed declaration that hints at a long-held secret, it reignites feelings of isolation that have plagued her for years. Her suspicions about the family’s past only deepen when her mother, Annie, who is losing her memories to dementia, starts making cryptic comments of her own.

Thirty-five years earlier, Annie’s life was upended by a series of traumas - one shock after another that she buried deep in her heart. The decisions she made at the time were motivated by love, but she knew even then that nobody could ever understand - let alone forgive - what she did.

As the two women’s stories unravel, a generation apart, Nell finally discovers the devastating truth about her mother’s past, and her own.

In this beautifully observed and emotionally powerful story of identity, memory and the nature of family, Hannah Beckerman asks: To what lengths would you go to protect the ones you love?

©2021 by Hannah Beckerman. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“WONDERFUL. I read The Impossible Truths of Love by Hannah Beckerman in one gulp. The intrigue at this book’s heart genuinely ‘got’ me.”—Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups

“Hannah Beckerman’s writing is utterly superb: so finely crafted. I was gripped from the start and couldn’t put it down. I LOVED this book and will be recommending it to everyone.”—Ruth Jones, author of Never Greener and writer / star of Gavin and Stacey

“This is an accomplished, moving, and deeply felt novel. I found myself thinking of it during the days and savouring it as I read it. It’s affecting, elegiac, and highly relatable. Hannah Beckerman is the real deal.”—Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient 

What listeners say about The Impossible Truths of Love

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Epic twist turns everything on it’s axis!

All I can say is, wow! I spent the first half/two thirds of the booking thinking ‘I know exactly where this is going’, that it had been done so many times before. And then, there was an epic twist which turned everything on it’s axis! This book raises so many philosophical questions about who we are and how we feel, what it means to be us, who we love and why. There are so many nuances to it, as, through the characters, the author explores the many different aspects and presentations of love. I loved listening to the narrator reading the story to me; between the writing and presentation, some of the prose was poetic. Suffice to say I loved it, and would even like to listen to it again (which I never do!). I will definitely be looking out for more from this author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Riveting story. Heartbreaking. I binged it in two days!

I remember hearing true stories similar to this one and couldn’t imagine the heartbreak. No spoilers from me because the style the book is written in unfolds at its own pace from 2 separate timelines, so you are hooked in to find out the truth through the emotional reactions and experiences of Nell and her mother. Brilliantly performed with superb characterisation, heated emotions and distinctive accents. I highly recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Death by simile

I have three hours left in this boring , miserable story that has dragged on for hours . I can’t go on listening to the dreadful , dragged out descriptions . Nothing has really happened . I keep waiting but it’s time to give up. The narrator is OK .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

Not only a great story, but beautifully performed. Kristen is able to ‘do’ voices so well. Highly recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Beautifully written and narrated

A deep and moving story which was beautifully narrated. Left me wanting more and also a bit melancholic!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Impossible Truths of Love

A beautifully sensitively written book. Well researched and wonderfully narrated. A story that resonates and has brought tears to my eyes, and something I know has happened in the past. A story that does show errors do occur and how do you rectify them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Too slow for me I’m afraid

The pain staking descriptions and repetition really made this dreary - hate giving bad reviews but it wasn’t a compelling read at all

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A long drawn out story

A good story line which would have suited half the time. And at the end…. I would have really enjoyed the endgame. The narrator was very harsh and a difficult listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Depressing

this book I found was like a happiness hoover. Nothing uplifting or joyful just a really hard sad slog.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Too long and drawn out

There wasn't much to the story.
I wish the book had started with revealing "the secret" (which was relatively obvious) and worked forwards from there, rather than the retrospective drawn out reflections that always stopped short of revealing "it" until near the end of the book. I did not enjoy the fake suspense this created.
I frequently found myself yelling "just get to the point!" and skipping forwards through a lot of boring minutae.
In the absence of a real plot, prose was padded out with pointless long descriptions that added no insight into the characters or the story, and the overuse of similes.
Sometimes the narrator would use an urgent "shout-y" voice to convey tension, which was extremely annoying especially when listening with headphones. This broke up her overly slow deliberate narration, which just made the story even more long and drawn out.
I actually feel annoyed with myself for listening to the end


Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!