** THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER ** 'A wonderful storyteller' Cathy Kelly 'Warm, intelligent and brilliant' Marian Keyes 'A beautiful book by an exceptional author - lose yourself in her wonderful writing' Sinead Moriarty ----------------------- Happy Birthday, darling girl... Ever since she can remember, Roisin has received a birthday card in the post. Signed with love from the birth mother she has never met. Brought up by her adoptive parents, Keeley and Doug, Roisin has wanted for nothing. But on her thirtieth birthday a letter comes that shakes her world. For Keeley, who's raised Roisin as her own, the letter reminds her of a secret she's been holding for thirty years. And for Nell, keeping watch in the lighthouse, the past is a place she rarely goes. Until a young runaway arrives seeking shelter, and unwraps the gift of hope for them all... ----------------------- This beautiful, moving novel of mothers and daughters and the secrets they share will fill hearts with love and light. If you love Patricia Scanlan and Cathy Kelly's warm novels, you will adore Emma Hannigan's The Perfect Gift. Readers LOVE The Perfect Gift: 'A stunningly beautiful story that in itself was a gift to our hearts and mind' 5* Reader Review 'It was raw. It was emotional. It was intense. It was mind-blowing. It was utterly amazing. I cannot seem to find the right words to express how much 'The Perfect Gift' blew me away, but it truly did. Breathtakingly beautiful' 5* Reader Review 'Emma Hannigan writes books that I really WANT to read! This is a book about family, love, hope, secrets, and the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughter . . . beautifully written' 5* Reader Review 'I have cried and laughed . . . Truly magical' 5* Reader Review 'A truly wonderful, warm, heartfelt story, by an inspirational writer' 5* Reader Review 'Wow this is another fabulous book from Emma. Brilliant story from start to finish. Couldn't put this book down' 5* Reader Review
In the tradition of Kaye Gibbons, Sheri Reynolds, and Dorothy Allison, Brenda Jernigan is an exciting and original Southern voice. This novel concerns a miraculous event -- with a contemporary spin -- that sets in motion a profoundly moving and often warmly human coming-of-age story. This is beautifully crafted writing, rich with unforgettable characters. Every Good and Perfect Gift is set in a small town in North Carolina, a place that is comfortable with tradition, including the traditional image of God. On a sultry Sunday morning when ten-year-old Maggie Davidson swoons from the heat and sees God -- and God is a woman -- people are quick to ascribe her vision to the fantasies of an overheated girl. But when Maggie begins to demonstrate a gift of healing, people's attitudes change. This is a story of a family of three strong women -- grandmother, mother, and daughter -- who live by the laws of love, loss, and pride. It is also the story of a community of good people gone wrong and bad people who find good in themselves. It is a knowingly detailed account of a particular part of America -- and of the wide landscape of human hearts and souls.
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.
"Happy Birthday, darling girl." Ever since she can remember, Roisin has received a birthday card in the post. Signed with love from the birth mother she has never met. Brought up by her adoptive parents, Keeley and Doug, Roisin has wanted for nothing. But on her thirtieth birthday a letter comes that shakes her world. For Keeley, who's raised Roisin as her own, the letter reminds her of a secret she's been holding for thirty years. And for Nell, keeping watch in the lighthouse, the past is a place she rarely goes. Until a young runaway arrives seeking shelter, and unwraps the gift of hope for them all.
A poignant and breathtaking novel from the author of The Things We Keep and The Secrets of Midwives. All their lives, Alice Stanhope and her daughter, Zoe, have been a family of two, living quietly in Northern California. Zoe has always struggled with crippling social anxiety and her mother has been her constant and fierce protector. With no family to speak of, and the identity of Zoe’s father shrouded in mystery, their team of two works—until it doesn’t. Until Alice gets sick and needs to fight for her life. Desperate to find stability for Zoe, Alice reaches out to two women who are practically strangers but who are her only hope: Kate, a nurse, and Sonja, a social worker. As the four of them come together, a chain of events is set into motion and all four of them must confront their sharpest fears and secrets—secrets about abandonment, abuse, estrangement, and the deepest longing for family. Imbued with heart and humor in even the most dismal moments, The Mother’s Promise is an unforgettable novel about the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters and the new ways in which families are forged. Sally Hepworth novels are "sure to appeal to fans of Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult, and Lisa Genova; book clubs will be lining up." —Library Journal (starred review)
Now an ECPA Best Seller—Kari Kampakis's Love Her Well gives moms ten practical tips for how to build strong and lasting relationships with their daughters. For many women, having a baby girl is a dream come true. But as girls grow up, the narrative of innocence and joy changes to one of dread as moms are told, "Just wait until she's a teenager!" and handed a disheartening and too-often-true script about a daughter's teenage season of life. Author, blogger, and mom to four daughters Kari Kampakis thinks it's time to change the narrative and mind-set that leads moms to parent teen girls with a spirit of defeat instead of strength. Love Her Well isn't a guide to help mothers "fix" their daughters or make them behave. It's about a mom's journey, doing the heart-work necessary to love a teenager while still being a steady, supportive parent. Kari offers wisdom about how moms can: Choose their words and timing carefully. Listen and empathize with her teen's world. See the good, and love her for who she is. Take care of themselves and find a support system in the process. By working on the foundation, habits, and dynamics of the relationship; mothers can connect with their teen daughters and earn a voice in their lives that allows moms to offer guidance, love, wisdom, and emotional support. Kari gives mothers hope, wisdom, and a reminder that all things are possible through God, who is the source of the guidance and clarity they need in order to grow strong relationships with their daughters at every age—especially during the critical teen years.
A mother, a daughter, and a life-changing adventure around the world . . . Their bestselling memoir, Come Back, moved and inspired readers with the story of Mia Fontaine's harrowing drug addiction and her mother, Claire's, desperate and ultimately successful attempts to save her. Now it's a decade later and Claire and Mia each face a defining moment in her life, and a mother-daughter relationship that has frayed around the edges. At fifty-one, Claire's shed her identity as Mia's savior but realizes that, oops, she forgot to plan for life after motherhood; Mia, twenty-five and eager to step outside her role as recovery's poster child, finds adult life isn't all it's cracked up to be. Determined to transform themselves and their relationship once again, the pair sets off on a five-month around-the-world adventure. What awaits them is an extraordinary, often hilarious journey through twenty cities and twelve countries—one that includes mishaps, mayhem, and unexpected joys, from a passport-eating elephant to a calamitous camel ride around the Pyramids—and finally making peace with their tumultuous past in the lavender fields of France, where they live for the last four months of the trip. Seeing how self-possessed and community-minded twentysomethings are in other countries broadens Mia's perspective, helping her grow, and grow up. Claire uses the trip to examine her broken relationship with her own mother, a Holocaust survivor, and to create a vision for her second act. Watching her mom assess half a century of life, Mia comes to know her as Claire has always known Mia—as all mothers know their daughters—better than anyone else, and often better than themselves. Wiser for what they've learned from women in other cultures, and from each other, they return with a deepened sense of who they are and where they want to go—and with each embracing the mature friendship they've discovered and the profound love they share. Alternating between Claire and Mia's compelling and distinct voices, Have Mother, Will Travel is a testament to the power and beauty of the mother-daughter relationship, one that illuminates possibilities for our own lives.
"I'm getting a life's lesson about grace from my mother in the ICU. We never stop learning from our mothers, do we?" UNFORGETTABLE is a son's spirited, affecting, and inspiring tribute to his remarkable mother and the love between parent and child. When NPR's Scott Simon began tweeting from his mother's hospital room in July 2013, he didn't know that his missives would soon spread well beyond his 1.2 million Twitter followers. Squeezing the magnitude of his final days with her into 140-character updates, Simon's evocative and moving meditations spread virally. Over the course of a few days, Simon chronicled his mother's death and reminisced about her life, revealing her humor and strength, and celebrating familial love. UNFORGETTABLE, expands on those famous tweets to create a memoir that is rich, deeply affecting, heart-wrenching, and exhilarating. His mother was a glamorous woman of the Mad Men–era; she worked in nightclubs, modeled, dated mobsters and movie stars, and was a brave single parent to young Scott Simon. Spending their last days together in a hospital ICU, mother and son reflect on their lifetime's worth of memories, recounting stories laced with humor and exemplifying resilience. UNFORGETTABLE is not only one man's rich and moving tribute to his mother's colorful life and graceful death, it is also a powerful portrayal of the universal bond between mother and child.
She befriended the one woman she was never supposed to meet. Now she's the key suspect in her disappearance. For fans of The Perfect Mother and The Wife Between Us comes a gripping psychological suspense debut about two strangers, one incredible connection, and the steep price of obsession. Lana Stone has never considered herself a stalker--until the night she impulsively follows a familiar face through the streets of New York's Upper West Side. Her target? The "anonymous" egg donor she'd selected through an agency, the one who's making motherhood possible for her. Hungry to learn more about her, Lana plans only to watch her from a distance. But when circumstances bring them face-to-face, an unexpected friendship is born. Katya, a student at Columbia, is the yin to Lana's yang, an impulsive free spirit who lives life at the edge. And for pragmatic Lana, she's a breath of fresh air and a welcome distraction from her painful breakup with her baby's father. Then, just as suddenly as Katya entered Lana's life, she disappears--and Lana might have been the last person to see her before she went missing. Determined to find out what became of the woman to whom she owes so much, Lana digs into Katya's past, even as the police grow suspicious of her motives. But she's unprepared for the secrets she unearths, and their power to change everything she thought she knew about those she loves best...
'Vintage Emma: Wise, funny, full of wit and sparkle. Read and be uplifted' Cathy Kelly 'A beautiful story about fractured families, unconditional love and the importance of friendship. I read it in one sitting' Sinéad Moriarty 'Brimming with warmth, love and friendship - Emma is on every page of this absorbing, heartfelt read' Patricia Scanlan From the Number One bestselling author Emma Hannigan comes The Gift of Friends, a magical story of love, friendship and hope. Kingfisher Road - a leafy, peaceful street in the town of Vayhill. But there are whispers behind closed doors. Who is moving into Number 10? Danielle appears to her new neighbours to have the perfect, glossy life. But not everything is as it seems... In fact, the four women who live close by - each at very different stages of their lives - are busy guarding their own secrets. But could a gift be waiting on their doorsteps? And, by opening their front doors, and their hearts, to each other, could the women of Kingfisher Road discover all the help they need? The final novel from the beloved and inspiring Emma Hannigan is a life-affirming, uplifting story that celebrates the strength and joys of female friendship across generations.
