The House We Grew Up In

Lisa Jewell’s early career was in fashion, but she later started writing. She is a prolific writer who has written 19 novels in 25 years, and her books have sold a combined 10 million copies worldwide. Her work straddles the gap between commercial bestsellers and literary fiction, and she writes in several popular genres, including romantic comedies (Thirty-nothing, Vince & Joy, 31 Dream Street), thrillers (Watching You, I Found You, The Family Upstairs and its sequel, The Family Remains), and family dramas (The House We Grew Up In, The Truth About Melody Browne).

Although written in different genres, Jewell’s books employ similar literary devices and motifs. They are often intricately plotted, focusing on multigenerational families and jumping through time. Her characters have psychological depth, and their idiosyncrasies affect the narrative arc. Sometimes, the characters have out-of-body experiences, allowing them to view themselves objectively, or a moment in time is frozen as they make an important realization. Settings are important, and a house full of secrets is often used as a symbolic device. Along with the Bird House in The House We Grew Up In, her pivotal settings include a manor perched on a seaside cliff in I Found You, a Chelsea house in The Family Upstairs, and an abandoned mansion in The Night She Disappeared.

The House We Grew Up In contains elements of a thriller, which create satisfying arcs and conclusions by having action-driven plot points. As Jewell notes, “[E]verything needs to happen for a reason, and you can’t introduce a character, an object or a location unless it has something to do with the dénouement.” (Brooker, Will. The Truth About Lisa Jewell, Cornerstone, 2022). At the same time, the book is a family drama that explores the psychological effects of emotional and physical loss.

Jewell sees this work as a family saga, a mystery, and a book about hoarding. When researching hoarding for the book, she noted parallels between hoarding and childlike behavior as children refuse to let go of some objects, even if they are dirty or old, because they are “imbued with smells and memories and reassurance” (428). Collecting objects is an essentially human characteristic, caused by acquisitiveness or sentimentality. Jewell sees Lorelei as wanting her children to have a perfect childhood to make up for her own troubled one. In writing about misunderstood mental health issues, Jewell uses her book to create awareness of trauma as a cycle and the root causes of compulsive behaviors. Additionally, by creating dynamic, round characters, the book emphasizes the role of compassion and connection in treating mental health issues.