Sibling rivalry, is there any amongst us who hasn't
experienced this is one form or another? I know that in
my life I have and occasionally still do even as an adult!
Sibling rivalry is the at the heart of Marie Bostwick's
new book, THE SECOND SISTER.
Lucy Toomey is the younger child, and her older sister
Alice is the apple of her father's eye. Alice is the
child who is destined to follow in their father's
footsteps, and to travel the path to the successful end
that their father didn't quite reach. Everything seems to
be going according to the plan until the fateful day when
Alice has an accident, and Lucy who was at the same event
didn't get to her in time, and Alice's life is altered
forever.
Now several years have passed and Alice is living a quiet
but happy life in their small hometown. What she wants
more than anything is for Lucy to come home and spend
Christmas with her. They've not truly spent any time
together since Lucy's career has taken off. Lucy assists
with the running of political campaigns, and is in the
midst of the one that she believes will change her life
forever. If her candidate wins the Presidential election
she will have achieved her biggest dream of working in The
White House.
Again, fate takes a hand in Lucy's future and she is
called home because Alice is in the hospital. Will she
make it in time? Unfortunately, Lucy doesn't make it in
time and Alice passes away, but not alone... she is
surrounded by the friends she has made and who don't take
warmly to the sister who never seemed to be able to make
the time for the one thing Alice wanted...to spend time
with
her and her alone.
It is as Lucy spends time in Alice's home attempting to
get her affairs in order that life takes another one of
those unexpected twists, and Lucy has no choice but to
follow the new course. Lucy of course being Lucy isn't
thrilled, but soon she starts seeing a different side of
life, and begins to wonder about things other than the
next big campaign.
Marie Bostwick manages to take issues that we as people in
the real world often find ourselves facing, and writes
characters who experience the same ups and downs that we
do, but manage to come out as survivors at the other end,
thus giving her readers hope that their journey will end
on a positive note as well.
As I read THE SECOND SISTER I couldn't help but think of
my own brother and sister and the divergent paths that our
lives have taken. It's funny how we all started basically
the same, but have ended up in different places. I only
hope that for the three of us, we manage to make our paths
cross on a regular basis so that at the end of one our
journey's we're not left wondering who our brother or
sister really was, and depending on their friends, and
possessions to tell us.
Before sitting down to read THE SECOND SISTER be sure to
clear your schedule , have a box of tissues and your phone
handy. The journey of Alice and Lucy is one you won't
regret taking and at the end you'll want your phone nearby
so you can call your siblings and say I love you before
it's too late.
From New York Times bestselling author Marie Bostwick comes
an emotionally rich, inspiring new novel about family,
second chances--and the connections that bring women
together in hope and healing. . .
Years of long workdays and little sleep as a political
campaigner are about to pay off now that Lucy Toomey's boss
is entering the White House. But when her estranged older
sister, Alice, unexpectedly dies, Lucy is drawn back to
Nilson's Bay, her small, close-knit, Wisconsin hometown.
An accident in her teens left Alice mentally impaired, and
she was content to stay in Nilson's Bay. Lucy, meanwhile,
got out and never looked back. But now, to meet the terms of
Alice's eccentric will, Lucy has taken up temporary
residence in her sister's cottage--and begins to see the
town, and Alice's life, anew. Alice's diverse group of
friends appears to have little in common besides an interest
in quilting. Yet deep affection for Alice united them and
soon Lucy, too, is brought into the fold as they share
problems and stories. And as she finds warmth and support in
this new circle, Lucy begins to understand this will be her
sister's enduring gift--a chance to move beyond her
difficult past, and find what she has long been missing. . .