Through an Open Window (Ballantine 2025) by Pamela Terry is an engaging novel about family, love, and loss, centered on the secrets we keep to protect those closest to us. The story takes a whimsical turn from the very first page, when the ghost of Aunt Edith appears to recently widowed Margaret. Edith has been dead for forty years—so why is she visiting now? Slowly, she leads Margaret to uncover long-buried truths about the parents Margaret lost as a baby.
Terry structures the novel through multiple viewpoints, enriching the portrait of a grieving family. Alongside Margaret’s chapters, we hear from her grown children. Her daughter, Mouse, hides the depth of her sorrow over her father’s death. Margaret’s twin sons—Lawrie, a veterinarian, and Tom, a wealthy developer—struggle with rivalry and jealousy. Lawrie is an endearing character despite his habit of taunting his brother, while Tom’s showy wealth is grating—though he redeems himself with a courageous ethical decision that costs him both financial security and his marriage. After an especially public quarrel at a restaurant, Margaret reminds them that one day, when she is gone, they will only have each other—an emotional plea that underscores the novel’s exploration of messy but enduring family bonds.
At first, Margaret hides her visions: “Southern women are used to pretending things are better than they actually are.” But eventually, her children and friends learn about Aunt Edith’s appearances. Some fear Margaret is losing her mind, and even Margaret worries about reconciling her realistic world view with these visions. Yet she recalls the wisdom of Edith’s friend Ida Mae, who once asked, “What if all I believe doesn’t turn out to be the whole story?”
One of the most delightful characters is Margaret’s older friend Harriet, who carries a chihuahua in her handbag and serves as a witty, supportive confidante. Harriet is unbothered by ghosts and embraces aging with humor: “Beauty is something I never had and never wanted. Just look at the women who had it. They’re the ones so upset about getting old… You never miss what you didn’t have.” She and Lawrie also encourage Margaret to adopt a dog, leading her to Jubal, a Clumber spaniel whose steady companionship proves to be exactly what Margaret needs.
Heartwarming and wise, Through an Open Window reminds us to welcome new ideas, friendships, dogs, and family members. A full life can never have too many of any of these.
Pamela Terry
Pamela Terry, a lifelong Southerner, is also the author of The Sweet Taste of Muscadines and When the Moon Turns Blue. For more than a decade she wrote the internationally popular blog From the House of Edward, named one of the top ten home blogs of the year by London’s The Telegraph. She lives in Smyrna, Georgia, with her songwriter husband, Pat, and their three dogs—Apple, Andrew, and George—and travels often to the Scottish Highlands.
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