Published by Berkley BooksDate Published: 4 June, 2019
Pages: 368
Genres: Southern Fiction
Format: eBook
Source: Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon
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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Bookshop at Water's End, here is a lush, heart-wrenching novel about the power of memory, the meaning of family, and learning to forgive.
Ten years ago, Lena Donohue experienced a wedding-day betrayal so painful that she fled the small town of Watersend, South Carolina, and reinvented herself in New York City. Though now a freelance travel writer, the one place she rarely goes is home--until she learns of her dad's failing health.
Returning to Watersend means seeing the sister she has avoided for a decade and the brother who runs the family's Irish pub and has borne the burden of his sisters' rift. While Alzheimer's slowly steals their father's memories, the siblings rush to preserve his life in stories and in photographs. As his secret past brings Lena's own childhood into focus, it sends her on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Author/Edelweiss and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.
My Thoughts
A family betrayal and a health issue that will change everything. That’s what this book is made of. I’ll tell ya. Henry is a talented, very talented, author. She hooks the reader from page one and doesn’t let them go untli the end. This story of sisters, a brother and a father who needs them all around, is powerful.
This is wonderful southern fiction. I felt myself being pulled to the fictional town of Watersend and I wanted to make myself at home. This story is filled with wonderful characters who all have a lesson to learn. This is a story of pain and heartache, forgiveness, acceptance, true meanings of family.
The element of the Alzheimer’s with Colleen’s father, really hit home for me. You see, I lost my grandfather to Alzheimer’s many years back. It’s an illness that makes one very sentimental for family. I felt the pain and betrayal that is woven into the story as if it was my own. But, what really tore at my soul, was when Colleen, Hallie and their brother Shane were together to help their father for his birthday and the healing power that is family comes to play.
The Favorite Daughter was a wonderful read and one I won’t forget. If you want a wonderfully written, emotionally moving, Southern fiction drama, then look no further than that of Patti Callahan Henry’s work. She has a beautiful talent and it shows! Her characters are real, her story lines gripping and her settings are chiseled vividly. Well done, Henry! I can’t wait to read more.
About Patti Callahan Henry
Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times bestselling author of Losing the Moon; Where the River Runs; When Light Breaks; Between the Tides; The Art of Keeping Secrets; Driftwood Summer; The Perfect Love Song: A Holiday Story; Coming up for Air; And Then I Found You; The Stories We Tell; The Idea of Love and The Bookshop at Water’s End (July 2017). BECOMING MRS. LEWIS — The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis is out October 9th, 2018 by Harper Collins/Thomas Nelson.
A finalist in the Townsend Prize for Fiction, an Indie Next Pick, an OKRA pick, and a multiple nominee for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Novel of the Year, Patti is published in nine languages. Her articles and essays have appeared in Southern Living, PINK, Writer’s Digest, Birmingham Magazine and more. Patti is a frequent speaker and luncheons, book clubs and women’s groups.
Growing up in Philadelphia as the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Patti learned early the value of storytelling. At the age of twelve, her family moved to South Florida where Patti found the sanctuary of libraries and began her slow but steady journey into understanding the power of story to navigate confusing times in life.
Patti attended Auburn University for her undergraduate work, and Georgia State University for her graduate degree. Once a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, she now writes full time. The mother of three children, she now lives in both Mountain Brook, Alabama and Bluffton, South Carolina with her husband.
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