THE GOOD SISTER by Drusilla Campbell

  Synopsis (borrowed from B&N): Roxanne Callahan has always been her younger sister’s caretaker. Now married, her happiness is threatened when beautiful and emotionally unstable Simone, suffering from crippling postpartum depression, commits an unforgivable crime for which Roxanne comes to believe she is partially responsible. In the glare of national media attention brought on her sister, Roxanne fights to hold her marriage together as she is drawn back into the pain of her troubled past and relives the fraught relationship she and Simone shared with their narcissistic mother. At the same time, only she can help Simone’s nine year old daughter, Merell, make sense of the family’s tragedy. Cathartic, lyrical, and unflinchingly honest, THE GOOD SISTER is a novel of four generations of women struggling to overcome a legacy of violence, lies and secrecy, ultimately finding strength and courage in their love for each other.

  My Thoughts and Opinion: Ms. Campbell was able to take a real life , often misunderstood, disease, and with her sensitive, personal experience and masterful writing style, to create a fictional story that was poignant, emotional and heart wrenching. The family dynamics profound, psyches formed from childhood make one wonder of their own family dynamics. This book, at times was very personal and hard for me to read, especially because I could relate to the character of Roxanne. With this book, comes a “Reading Book Guide”, and after reading it, I agree, this novel would make an excellent Book Club Choice. If you enjoy books where relationships are woven together, then this is a must read.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
*Grab your current read
*Open to a random page
*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
This is more than 2 sentences but being a former nurse, also found it funny.

  I’ve been to heaven and back.
  The tall, dark-haired doctor rushes back in, begins poking and prodding me.  He shines the business end of a bright penlight in my good eye, and i Instinctively rear back against the one-hundred percent acrylic, allergen-free, nylon pillow.
  The doc just about jumps out of his lime green Crocks,
  “WE GOT A LIVE ONE!!!”
  I can hear his voice plain enough.  It’s enough to raise the dead.
  How long was he gone?!  Come on people…How?! long?! Gone?!.

On Wednesday, July 27 at 3 p.m. ET, come to BookTrib.com and celebrate summer with style! We are having the “Queen of the Summer Novel” herself, Elin Hilderbrand, for an online e-vent with live video chat to celebrate the release of her absolutely fabulous, New York Times-bestselling novel SILVER GIRL!

Elin will discuss SILVER GIRL, Nantucket, and answer your questions! Fifteen lucky party-goers will win an exclusive Silver Girl tote bag courtesy of The Elegant Setting along with an autographed copy of the book. Below are details and more about SILVER GIRL.

Would you kindly let me know if you can make it? Thanks! Thanks! Look forward to hearing from you—

All the best,
Sarah
sarah@mediamuscle.com

With several bestsellers under her belt and over a million copies of her books sold to an ever growing audience, Elin Hilderbrand has established herself as the go-to writer for expertly plotted, gorgeous summer novels. However, don’t be mistaken: Hilderbrand may write against the backdrop of a blistering Nantucket summer, but her books are anything but fluff. She brings complicated, fully realized women to life, making each book moving and full of dramatic truths, while also presenting each as a scorching page-turner. Never has that been more evident than in SILVER GIRL (Reagan Arthur Books / Little, Brown 6/21/11), Hilderbrand’s highly anticipated new novel.

Meet Meredith Delinn, a woman whose husband has cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars and, in the process, humiliated Meredith so fully that she’s lost everything: her friends, her homes—even contact with her beloved sons. More down-and-out than she ever thought possible, Meredith reaches out to the only person she has left: her oldest friend, Constance Flute. Despite a painful rift between the women, Constance, who is herself mourning the loss of her adored husband, can’t turn her back on Meredith and takes her to Nantucket to hide—and to heal. When it seems as if the present is too difficult to endure, Constance and Meredith revisit their shared history. A surprise visit from Toby, Constance’s brother and Meredith’s high school sweetheart, forces Meredith to confront both her present and her former self, and decide who it is she will become in the aftermath of her personal tragedy. Amid the salty sea air and sandy dunes, both women must learn how to forgive each other, and themselves. In SILVER GIRL, Hilderbrand has added depth and humanity to a character we thought we already knew, and has crafted a suspenseful story of friendship, love, and the power of forgiveness.

Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and is an enthusiastic Philadelphia Eagles fan. She has traveled extensively through six continents but loves no place better than Nantucket, where she enjoys hogging, cooking, and watching her sons play Little League Baseball. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins university and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.

THE GOOD SISTER by Drusilla Campbell

  Synopsis (borrowed from B&N): Roxanne Callahan has always been her younger sister’s caretaker. Now married, her happiness is threatened when beautiful and emotionally unstable Simone, suffering from crippling postpartum depression, commits an unforgivable crime for which Roxanne comes to believe she is partially responsible. In the glare of national media attention brought on her sister, Roxanne fights to hold her marriage together as she is drawn back into the pain of her troubled past and relives the fraught relationship she and Simone shared with their narcissistic mother. At the same time, only she can help Simone’s nine year old daughter, Merell, make sense of the family’s tragedy. Cathartic, lyrical, and unflinchingly honest, THE GOOD SISTER is a novel of four generations of women struggling to overcome a legacy of violence, lies and secrecy, ultimately finding strength and courage in their love for each other.

  My Thoughts and Opinion: Ms. Campbell was able to take a real life , often misunderstood, disease, and with her sensitive, personal experience and masterful writing style, to create a fictional story that was poignant, emotional and heart wrenching. The family dynamics profound, psyches formed from childhood make one wonder of their own family dynamics. This book, at times was very personal and hard for me to read, especially because I could relate to the character of Roxanne. With this book, comes a “Reading Book Guide”, and after reading it, I agree, this novel would make an excellent Book Club Choice. If you enjoy books where relationships are woven together, then this is a must read.