How to Be Lost: A Novel

by Amanda Eyre Ward

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters . . . Years ago, five-year-old Ellie disappeared. But then her sister finds her photograph in the pages of a magazine, leading her to ask: Was Ellie ever really missing?

“Invites comparison to The Lovely Bones . . . Ward’s depiction of family, with its attendant love and guilt, will keep you turning pages.”—People

Joseph and Isabelle Winters seem to have it all: a grand home in Holt, New York, a trio of radiant daughters, and a sense that they are safe in their affluent corner of America. But when five-year-old Ellie disappears, the fault lines within the family are exposed: Joseph, once a successful businessman, succumbs to his demons; Isabelle retreats into memories of her debutante days in Savannah; and Ellie’s bereft sisters grow apart—Madeline reluctantly stays home, while Caroline runs away.

Fifteen years later, Caroline, now a New Orleans cocktail waitress, sees a photograph of a woman in a magazine. Convinced that it is Ellie all grown up, Caroline embarks on a search for her missing sister. Armed with copies of the photo, an amateur detective guide, and a cooler of Dixie beer, Caroline travels through the New Mexico desert, the mountains of Colorado, and the smoky underworld of Montana, determined to salvage her broken family.

• ISBN10: 0345483170
• ISBN13: 9780345483171
• Publish Date: 30 August 2005 (first published 8 October 2004)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780345483171

Reviews

[Joni Reads]

How to be Lost is the story of a family dealing with the disappearance of their youngest child. Joseph and Isabelle Winters appear to have a blessed life in Holt, New York. With three daughters- Caroline, Madeline, and Ellie- and a beautiful home they seem to have a picture perfect life. But behind closed doors Joseph is a heavy drinker and Isabelle is lost in the fantasies of her debutante days, before she married her Yankee husband. After Caroline is slapped in the face by her father, the girls decide to run away to New Orleans. They pack their things into the family's Oldsmobile and plan to leave after school the next day. But when Caroline and Madeline pull up in front of the elementary school to pick up five year old Ellie, she is not there waiting for them.

After Ellie's disappearance Caroline moves to New Orleans, and Caroline stays in New York. Their father drinks himself to death and their mother spends her days writing in her journals about her days as a debutante. One Christmas things change when her mother shows Caroline a picture of a girl she found in People magazine. The girl looks like a grown up Ellie. Caroline decides to track down this girl. She loads up her car and goes on a road trip to Montana to try to find her missing sister and fix what she can of her broken family.

I enjoyed this book. It was the type of book that I wanted to read every chance I had. I could not wait to find out if the girl in picture is Ellie or not. The portayal of the brokeness of this familty is raw and honest. Definitely a good read.