What She Left Behind: A Haunting and Heartbreaking Story of 1920s Historical Fiction

In March 1946, ongoing rain seeps into Willard’s tunnels. As Clara and Esther are herded through the basement, Clara longs for death and wonders if her parents ever think about her. She turns her thoughts to things worth living for, such as movie night and the upcoming Fourth of July picnic. Clara also hopes to find Beatrice someday. Esther and Clara are in line for what the orderlies call “The Blitz,” which is electroshock therapy. An unconscious woman is brought out of the room where the treatment is being administered. The patient behind Clara whimpers.

A few moments later, orderlies carry out another woman, this one screaming in pain. Trench says that the woman’s back is probably broken. Roach briefly examines the woman’s spine and sends her to the infirmary. Trench and Roach argue about the settings of the machine before Clara and Esther are taken into the room. It has four beds; Trench straps Clara to one of them. Trench puts a dirty piece of wood in Clara’s mouth, and May tells Clara to bite down.

Roach says that he is going to administer the treatment using two paddles against her head and that the treatment will help cure her delusions. Clara struggles as May pushes on the wood, making Clara gag. Clara then hears rumbling and splashing noises in the hall, and women run into the room, screaming “Flood!”; water follows shortly behind them. Clara thrashes around until May lets go of the wood, and Clara begs to be untied. May is swept off her feet by the flood as Roach moves toward a window. May manages to grab the bed and begs for Roach’s help. He ignores her, breaks the window, and crawls out.

Water begins to cover Clara. She pulls at the straps but can’t get loose. However, Trench undoes the straps before Clara is submerged. Clara swims toward the window but gets disoriented. People pull on her from underwater, and she accidentally inhales. The chapter ends with her floating without pain.

A couple of days after Joyce’s funeral, Izzy and Peg visit Rita Trench. Her nurse, Renee, answers the door and says that Trench is still “sharp as a tack” at 95 (287). She frequently meets with family members of patients at Willard. Trench offers Peg and Izzy tea, which they reluctantly accept. Peg explains the museum’s project at Willard, and Izzy asks if Trench knew Clara. When Izzy asks about Clara’s daughter, Trench asks her nurse to get her some brandy. The nurse says that her doctor will be displeased but agrees.

Trench admits that Clara didn’t have a mental illness and was kept at Willard against her will. Roach and his wife raised Clara’s baby and renamed her Susan. Susan is a retired kindergarten teacher, Trench thinks, and knows that she was adopted. However, she was told her mother died in childbirth. Trench tells them how Bruno came to rescue Clara but was instead admitted and explains that she helped Bruno and Clara reunite at the Valentine’s Day party. She also reveals that Clara is still alive.

A week later, Izzy and Peg go to the Ithaca Diner to meet with Clara’s daughter, Susan. Peg tells Susan that Izzy’s mother passed away a few days ago. Susan offers her condolences. She believes that her mother is dead as well. Her adopted father wouldn’t talk about Susan’s birth mother and would get upset when Susan would ask questions. She only started to look for her birth mother after her adopted mother died, but she couldn’t get access to Willard’s records. Like Izzy, Susan feared learning about her birth mother for a long time, knowing that she supposedly had a mental illness. Susan never had children because she didn’t want to pass down her genes.

Peg explains the museum project at Willard, and Izzy reveals that Roach lied when he claimed not to know who Susan’s biological father was. Susan gets upset when Peg mentions that Roach admitted Bruno to Willard. Izzy shows Susan the picture of Clara and Bruno from Clara’s suitcase and assures Susan that her parents did not have a mental illness. Susan recognizes Clara’s last name from a news story about Henry Cartwright and his wife dying in a fire. Izzy says that Henry and his wife were Susan’s grandparents and gives her Clara’s journal. Susan thanks them, and Izzy reveals that Clara is still alive and invites Susan to meet her.

Izzy, Peg, and Susan visit an Ithaca nursing home. It reminds Izzy of the prison hospital. Izzy and Susan have doubts about Clara being who she says she is. A nurse tells them that Clara gets confused and thinks that she has a daughter as she shows them to Clara’s room. The nurse gives Clara her teeth and explains that Clara has difficulty hearing, so they have to speak loudly.

Peg greets Clara and introduces herself and the others. Then, Peg tells Clara they found her suitcase at Willard. They give Clara her sheet music to “Someone to Watch Over Me,” a postcard from Paris, and the picture of her and Bruno. Izzy apologizes for reading Clara’s journal and gives it back. Izzy also apologizes for how Clara’s father treated her. Clara stands and asks Susan if she’s her daughter. Susan cries and says that she is. Clara cries as well, and they hug.

Susan explains that she tried to find out about Clara and apologizes for not succeeding until now. Clara forgives her and says that they have to cherish the time they have. She tells Susan how Bruno died. Susan doesn’t tell Clara who adopted her. Clara shares the name she gave Susan, Beatrice Elizabeth, which Susan loves. Clara thanks Izzy for arranging the reunion, and Peg confirms that she’s proud of Izzy.

The nurse, Jennie, comes back, and Clara introduces her daughter, which shocks Jennie. Clara says that no one ever believed her when she told them she had a daughter. Jennie tells Susan that Clara is generally in good health. Susan invites Clara to come live with her, saying that she can care for Clara now that she’s retired. Clara happily and tearfully agrees.

Izzy forgets about her 18th birthday, but Peg and Harry remember. They have a cake with candles and sing to her when she gets home from school. Peg and Harry want to adopt Izzy, even though she is now legally an adult: They want to help with college and be there at her wedding someday. Izzy is so overwhelmed that she can’t speak, but she nods enthusiastically. They all hug. Ethan, Alex, Clara, and Susan all come out of hiding and wish Izzy a happy birthday.