Review: The Favorite Daughter by Patti Callahan Henry

The Favorite Daughter by Patti Callahan Henry

Berkley Trade

Publication Date: June 4, 2019

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

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

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Well, I finally read my first Patti Callahan Henry book and I can see why everyone raves about her!

The Favorite Daughter starts off as Lena is preparing for her Wedding day when her world suddenly crashes. Devastated, she leaves her home and family to start a new life. Flash forward 10 years, Lena is now going by Colleen and is a popular travel writer living in NYC. When she receives a call from her brother about a family emergency, she must go home, and back to the place where the ultimate betrayal took part.

"Memories had originally kept Colleen away, and now that her dad might be losing his, she would return."

Faced with the devastating diagnosis of Alzheimer's, Colleen and her siblings race to document their father's past before it's too late. When questions from his part start to arise they dig in and discover a big family secret that could threaten to tear them apart, just as they are healing and becoming a family again.

The Favorite Daughter is a story about memories, forgiveness, and family. It's a deeply emotional read but an important one. I loved it and cannot wait to pick up more from Patti Callahan Henry!

Have you read The Favorite Daughter or is it on your TBR?