The House We Grew Up In: The unputdownable mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Don’t Let Him In

By Lisa Jewell

From the New York Times bestselling author of None of This Is True and Then She Was Gone comes an unforgettable saga that follows the Bird family and how one tragedy ripples throughout their lives for years.

Meet the picture-perfect Bird family: pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and towheaded twins Rory and Rhys, one an adventurous troublemaker, the other his slighter, more sensitive counterpart. Their father is a sweet, gangly man, but it’s their beautiful, free-spirited mother Lorelei who spins at the center. In those early years, Lorelei tries to freeze time by filling their simple brick house with precious mementos. Easter egg foils are her favorite. Craft supplies, too. She hangs all of the children’s art, to her husband’s chagrin.

Then one Easter weekend, a tragedy so devastating occurs that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass and the children have become adults, while Lorelei has become the county’s worst hoarder. She has alienated her husband and children and has been living as a recluse. But then something happens that beckons the Bird family back to the house they grew up in—to finally understand the events of that long-ago Easter weekend and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.

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Published Apr 28, 2015

436 pages

Average rating: 6.92

199 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Khris Sellin
Jul 05, 2024
8/10 stars
Very engaging story about the Bird family--Colin, Lorelei, and their four children. And about the "Bird House," in the Cotswolds. We follow their lives through the years, where Lorelei's hoarding issues become more and more out of control after several tragedies, and the other Birds find their own ways of (not so successfully) dealing with growing up in a dysfunctional family.
KikiStoneCreek
Jun 03, 2023
8/10 stars
This book took me a long time to read. The characters were very well drawn and will stick with me for a long time.
Louise K
Jul 09, 2026
9/10 stars
I really enjoyed this book. I’ve read quite a few from this author and this one is likely the best. Heartbreaking and raw it paints a picture of real life and the things that can go awry between families. A lot of unspoken words, a lot of hurt, forgiveness where it could be easy to hold onto things and as nice an ending as there could be in such tragic circumstances throughout the life of this family story. Really enjoyed and would recommend.
Mary Pat Holt
Feb 05, 2026
8/10 stars
Meet the Bird family: Colin and Lorelei and their children, practical Meg, dreamy Beth and towheaded twins Rory & Rhys. The children attend the village school and eat home cooked meals every night. Colin is a sweet man but it is Lorelei who is the center os the family. She sees the joy in everything and begins to savor each moment by collecting momentos. Her favorite holiday is Eater and one Easter a horrible tragedy occurs that begins to tear the family apart. Years pass, the children become adults, and Lorelei becomes the county's worst hoarder. She is estranged from her husband and children and has been living as a recluse for the last 6 years.
Told in different time periods (then and now) and through a series of email love letters between Lorelei and another man, we learn what happened all those years ago on Easter. Something happened that draws them all home again to the house they grew up in to finally learn the truth. Will they be able to forgive and move on? This family is so dysfunctional, I loved it! Quick, easy read.
KelSpinski
Jan 09, 2026
8/10 stars
a story about a family, very dysfuncational in every way.

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