It's Always Been Me

This contemporary novel about a woman navigating love, loss, and the whispering call of her neglected artistic dreams will appeal to fans of Lily King and Jojo Moyes.

After Sabina watches her rock star husband walk out on their marriage, a phone call reveals that her beloved grandmother is in the ICU in Santa Cruz, CA. So Sabina hits the road with a tear-stained face, a duffel bag of clothes, and no plan for her future.

In her grandmother’s seaside world, Sabina reconnects with several old passions: ocean swimming, process painting, and a long-lost summer love named Graham—all of which force her to confront the artistic dream she abandoned to support her husband. Meanwhile, a mysterious voice calls to her. Sabina wonders if it’s a Selkie, one of the mythical shape-shifting seal folk from her grandmother’s stories.

As both her marriage and her grandmother’s health deteriorate, Sabina wrestles with the choices she’s made. Is it too late to reclaim her dream? Must she choose between art and love? And is the voice she’s hearing a sign she’s lost it—or a key to unlocking her true self?