Title: The Favorite Daughter by Patti Callahan Henry
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
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.
Review:
The Favorite Daughter by Patti Callahan Henry is a bittersweet novel of healing and forgiveness.
Ten years earlier, Colleen “Lena” Donohue’s life is shattered on what should have been the happiest day of her life. Instead of marrying the man of her dreams, she flees from heartbreak and betrayal. After starting over in New York, Colleen is now a successful travel writer who rarely goes home to visit her family. But after a shocking phone call from her younger brother Shane about their beloved father, Gavin, she returns to South Carolina. Forced to face her father’s heart wrenching diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s, Colleen must also navigate her painful relationship with her younger sister, Hallie. Working on a memory book to help their father revisit his memories, Hallie and Colleen uncover a troubling discrepancy in the timeline of his trip to Ireland and the purchase of their pub in South Carolina. Are people mis-remembering when key events occurred? And wiill this enforced togetherness help Colleen forgive Hallie?
Colleen has spent the past ten years trying to move on from her heartache but these long ago events have left her with deep-seated trust issues. Although she does date, she has never had a serious relationship nor does she want one. Colleen’s visits home have been scarce and with meticulous planning, she has avoided seeing Hallie. But with her father’s diagnosis, the three siblings have no choice but to pull together for his sake. Will Colleen capitulate when everyone encourages her to let bygones be bygones? Or are there some betrayals that are too painful to forgive?
Gavin is much loved in their small community and his pub is a popular gathering place. Initially in denial about his diagnosis, he is eventually forced to accept that his precious memories are slipping away. Now that Colleen is in town, he is a little more forceful in his attempts to convince her to make peace with Hallie. But is it too late for his daughters to regain their once close relationship?
The Favorite Daughter is a captivating novel that is poignant yet heartwarming. The characters are richly developed with all too human foibles. The storyline tugs on the heartstrings as Colleen, Hallie and Shane must face the heartbreaking truth about their father’s diagnosis. Patti Callahan Henry brings the novel to a moving conclusion that is quite gratifying. Readers of the genre are sure to enjoy this beautifully written, family-centric story.
