A Family Matter

by: Clare Lynch

Goodreads description:

A young wife following her heart. A husband with the law on his side. Their daughter, caught in the middle. Forty years later, a family secret changes everything.

1982. Dawn is a young mother, still adjusting to life with her husband, when Hazel lights up her world like a torch in the dark. Theirs is the kind of connection that’s impossible to resist, and suddenly life is more complicated, and more joyful, than Dawn ever expected. But she has responsibilities and commitments. She has a daughter.

2022. Heron has just received news from his doctor that turns everything upside down. He’s an older man, stuck in the habits of a quiet existence. Telling Maggie, his only child—the person around whom his life has revolved—seems impossible. Heron can’t tell her about his diagnosis, just as he can’t reveal all the other secrets he’s been keeping from her for so many years.

A Family Matter is an exploration of love and loss, intimacy and injustice, custody and care, and whether it is possible to heal from the wounds of the past in the changed world of today.

Helen says: 🤓🤓🤓 (a generous plenty)

A quick read…kind of boring. This was easy to put down. I expected a little more from this one, Jenna Bush Hager. I had a hard time staying interested. I think it was that the characters were rather dull. Luckily, it was short. Gosh- I am really doing a good job of selling this one- ha! Also, I was distracted because I was watching Too Much on Netflix…much more entertaining.

Holly says: 🤓🤓🤓

To be honest, I don’t remember this book. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a decent read, it just wasn’t memorable. I even went back and read the Goodreads summary, and I still had a hard time remembering, but I did eventually. It was okay. It’s actually pretty sad. The book is based on a historical court case in England regarding a divorce and custody battle where the mother was involved in a lesbian relationship. Hopefully as society we have moved well-beyond the beliefs and biases reflected in this novel. I think so.

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