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You try turning out all right after you overhear your mother wishing you hadn’t been born.
It had started out well. Umbrellas tangled. A storybook romance followed. A wonderful wedding. A beautiful, sweet first daughter. They were complete, a family, happy.
And then they went and had another daughter.
Her charming and witty fraud of a father Theodore starts disappearing, then worse, coming back. Her once allegedly sweet older sister Regina angrily resents her, and the sisters are at constant war. Her poor harried mother Helen is so busy what-iffing about the life she might have had that she overlooks the life she is actually having. Everyone blames younger daughter Debra for pretty much everything as the family slowly, then quickly, then one day explosively disintegrates. Along the way there are secrets and lies, heartbreaks and betrayals, plus the dramatic unexpected death of a central character at a pivotal moment. Debra, now a young woman, finds herself living awkwardly alone with her embittered mother when the phone rings—and her mother’s secret past suddenly crashes back into the present. Their life may be about to change forever; or rather, perhaps, revert back to what it should have been all along. A game of what-if, perhaps about to come true.
But not exactly because of that phone call, as it turns out.
Because of the remarkable second daughter. For what Debra Gale has is unyielding determination. What she has is an irrepressible capacity to love.
And now at last what she has is a chance.
The complex dynamics of a changing family. Mother, daughters, sisters, and the father who both divides and unifies them. A fair amount of banana cream pie. Welcome to The Second Daughter: a funny but poignant, unusual but beautiful love story.
“This is one of those books that sneaks up on you and makes a lasting impression. One of the best fiction books I’ve read in a while.” –David Q., Amazon verified purchase
“This novel is a complete delight. Even before I was finished, the intermingling of the viscerally poignant with the irony and laugh out loud humor is what made the novel so real, so interesting, and unique. The messages too, among them that there’s redemption in a broken relationship, are so awfully relevant. The growing relationship between Helen and Deb is so honestly done, and that maternal love transcends rifts. Helen’s character is beautifully drawn, with all its flaws. She’s remarkable, really, when you think about her struggles …. I’m eager for the next one from J. Jeffrey [Andrew Pessin].” — Elissa H., Amazon verified purchase
“We’ve all heard ‘I couldn’t put it down’ when referring to a book. I was always skeptical…until The Second Daughter … I stayed up all night absolutely drawn into this book. The characters, their interaction, the humanity of the story completely gripped me … A must-read for anyone interested in the family dynamic, the things we do (or don’t do) for love, and the power of redemption.” –Derek R., Amazon verified purchase