The youngest of three daughters, Angela DeSaria Malone was always "the princess" of the family, a girl who thought she knew how her life would unfold. High School. College. Marriage. Motherhood. That was how it had gone for her sisters, her cousins, her friends. But it didn't work out that way for Angie. She and her husband tried desperately to have a child; year after year, their perfectly decorated nursery remained empty. Finally, their marriage collapsed under the weight of lost dreams.
After the divorce, Angie moved back to her hometown and rejoined her loud, loving, slightly crazy family. In West End, a place where life rises and falls in time with the tides, she will find the man who once again will open her heart to love…and meet the girl who will change Angie's life.
Lauren Ribido lives in a rundown apartment in a bad part of town with a mother who cares more about her next drink than about her daughter. At seventeen, Lauren knows that her aspirations in life may never come to pass.
From the moment they meet, Angie sees something special in Lauren. They form a quick connection, this woman who is desperate for a daughter and the girl who has never known a mother's love. When Lauren is abandoned by her mother, Angie doesn't hesitate to offer the girl a place to stay.
But nothing could have prepared Angie for the far-reaching repercussions of this act of kindness. In a dramatic turn of events, she and Lauren will be tested in a way that mothers and daughters seldom are. Together they will embark on an intensely moving, deeply emotional journey to the very heart of what it means to be a family.
Don't know how she does it, but Kristin Hannah has another really big hit in my opinion. I can't imagine writing about something unless you can pull from your experience... that's the difference between myself and a true writer, Kristin Hannah. She expands on all of the dynamics of a very involved family, throw in a family member that is the exact opposite of the others and you have fireworks at every occasion.
She really brings out the fact that I've come to believe in strongly... you always want what you don't have. The sister that has never left town and is raising a house full of children vs the sister that has the life, the job and the husband with all the travel and perks that go with it.... except the children. Both think that the other has it all. Great read and thanks Tammy - you always get me great gifts.
2 comments:
I read this book too and I really enjoyed it. Yes it is a big hit.
When I have more time to read, I'm going to go back to your blog archives for some ideas! :-)
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