Home Truths

Returning to Roots

After a decade of high-powered PR campaigns in London, Lauren Chandler craves authenticity—and the only place that still feels real is her childhood home in the sleepy coastal village of Willowhaven. When she inherits her late aunt’s ramshackle cottage, Lauren envisions a peaceful retreat where she can recharge her creative batteries. But the rickety porch and tangled wisteria mask deeper cracks: half-forgotten family feuds, whispered rivalries among neighbours, and the weight of memories she’s tried to bury. As she unpacks her belongings amid peeling wallpaper and dusty photographs, Lauren soon realizes that returning means confronting the truths she fled long ago.

Uncomfortable Revelations

Enlisting the help of local carpenter Tom Harrington—handsome, taciturn, and mourning his own personal loss—Lauren sets out to restore the cottage’s former charm. Yet every board they sand and nail they hammer unearths old secrets: a hidden letter from her aunt’s estranged sister, a series of anonymous postcards warning of betrayal, and a tattered diary revealing Lauren’s parents’ startling past. As Tom’s steady presence challenges Lauren’s self-reliance, they navigate town gossip, skeptical neighbours, and the uneasy alliance of two people learning to trust again. With every layer they strip away, the cottage’s walls seem to pulse with stories waiting to be told.

Rebuilding More Than Bricks

As spring blooms along the cliffside paths, Lauren organizes a community open-house to celebrate the cottage’s transformation—and to heal the divisions that have splintered Willowhaven for years. Neighbours bring homemade pies and whispered apologies; teenagers volunteer to repaint shutters; and the local vicar offers to bless the refurbished hearth. In that moment of shared celebration, Lauren discovers that home is more than a place—it’s a tapestry of lives woven together by compassion, forgiveness, and hope. Amid laughter and lingering glances with Tom, she realizes that mending her heart requires the same patience and care she’s given the weather-beaten walls.

Author’s Description

.In writing Home Truths, I wanted to explore how uncovering long-buried secrets can pave the way for genuine connection, and how the courage to rebuild—whether a house or a heart—can restore both strength and belonging. May Lauren’s journey remind readers that sometimes the greatest renovations occur from the inside out.