Colleen (Lena) Donahue has made a point of not returning to her childhood home where her parents own an Irish pub in North Carolina for over 10 years. As a travel writer living in New York, she has tried to forget her past, especially her own sister’s betrayal on Lena’s wedding day.
But unfortunately for Lena, she cannot hide from her family anymore. With her father Gavin’s recent diagnosis of Alzheimer’s she must return to face a sister she has not spoken to in years, a brother who loves them both but is overwhelmed with keeping their business afloat, and a father who is slipping slowly away from them.
They decide to give their dad a party and are putting together a memory book of stories and pictures to hopefully assist him with his memory. The book is to be filled with past memories from when they first bought the Irish pub when Colleen was born.
But then Lena begins to discover some of the stories and dates don’t match and that just doesn’t make sense. Are they just mistakes or is something else going on? Are there family secrets that have never been told?
Lena, Hallie and Shane must act quickly to find out the truth before their dad looses those memories. And are any of them really ready for what he might reveal if he can even remember them?
The Favorite Daughter is the story about sibling rivalry, grudges, disappointment and hurt. It’s also about family secrets and coming together as only family can no matter what the circumstances. It’s about the bon between brothers and sisters that no one can break.
It’s also about the reality of what happens as a brain begins to be ravaged by Alzheimer’s and how it affects not only the person, but everyone around them.
Thank you Goodreads and Berkley/Penguin Random House for the advanced copy. The Favorite Daughter is out right now.
Lisa's Cubby 