Olivia Grayson is approaching her 70th birthday. Olivia has inherited the hardware store, "The Factory", owned by her mother and is an icon in business. She is a forceto be dealt with. In exchange, her mother and husband have taken over the duty of raising her 4 children as she travels worldwide to grow the business into 100 stores throughout the world. Two sons work at The Factory office in Bedford, Phillip as CFO and John as head of design. Her daughter Liz is struggling to be an acclaimed author and her youngest child, Cass, is independent and a successful agent for a rock star abroad. Cass is angry at her mother for not being there and keeps her distance.
Olivia is totally devoted to her grandchildren, unlike the relationship she had with her own children. Widowed at 55, she is still burdened with the realization that she wasn't there for her children when they needed her. Each year her birthday is celebrated by an exotic trip to include all of her children. As Olivia's own 10 year affair is discovered, personal issues also unfold of various members of her family. A better grandmother than a mother, she devotes the love and support needed to bring her family closer to her in forgiveness of their loss during childhood. Being tremendously rich is not Olivia's priority. Striving for the love of her children and grandchildren, she stands her ground in her beliefs and is ever present in support of her children's problems.
THE SINS OF THE MOTHER reveals much soul searching along with the pain and misunderstanding of children learning to survive without the presence of their mother. While building a dynasty for her children and grandchildren, the most important part has been overlooked. Sadness and hurt is overcome by the eventual love and caring given when Olivia finally realizes all she has lost in being an absentee parent. The past comes full circle in healing this family.
As always, Danielle Steel has created an exceptional story of the rights and wrongs within a family and the road to healing. THE SINS OF THE MOTHER is an unforgettable novel that pulls at the heartstrings!
Every woman makes choices. And no one has made more
difficult choices than Olivia Grayson. The enormously
successful businesswoman missed out on much of her
childrenβs lives while she built her legendary
home-furnishings empire. In Danielle Steelβs character-rich
new novel, Olivia faces the past, tries to balance the
present, and makes amends where due, while still running her
vastly successful business. THE SINS OF
THE MOTHER As a way of making up
to them for time lost, Olivia spends months every year
planning a lavish holiday that everyone in her family will
enjoy. This summer she has arranged a dream trip in the
Mediterranean on a luxurious yacht, which she hopes will be
the most memorable vacation of all. Her lavish gesture every
year expresses her love for them, and regret at all the
important times she missed during her childrenβs younger
years. Her younger daughter, Cassie, a hip London music
producer, refuses the invitation altogether, as she does
every year. Her older daughter, Liz, lives in her motherβs
shadow, with a terror of failure as she tries to recapture
her dream of being a writer. And her sons, John and Phillip,
work for Olivia, for better or worse, with wives who wish
they didnβt. In the splendor of the Riviera, this should be
a summer to remember, with Oliviaβs children, grandchildren,
and daughters-in-law on board. But as with any family
gathering, there are always surprises, and no matter how
glamorous the setting things donβt always turn out as ones
hopes. Family dynamics are complicated, old
disappointments die hard, and as forgiveness and surprising
revelations enter into it, new bonds are formed, and the
future takes on a brighter hue. And one by one, with lifeβs
irony, Oliviaβs children find themselves committing the same
βsinsβ for which they blamed their mother for so many years.
It is a summer of compassion, important lessons, and
truth. The Sins of the Mother captures
the many sides of family love: complex, challenging, funny,
passionate, and hopefully enduring. Along the way, we are
enthralled by an unforgettable heroine, a mother strong
enough to take more than her fair share of the blame, wise
enough to respect her children for who they really are, and
forgiving enough to love them unconditionally.
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