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A review by raye_loves_reading
Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Something about this book made me keep reading. It was nearly midnight, and I couldn't put it down.
Mickey is a kindergarten teacher; she loves working with the children, and that much is obvious. But when she takes young Ian off the school premises because his mother hasn't shown up to collect him, she jeopardises her job.
Arlo is mourning her father, and the life of a young girl who committed suicide under her care. She's a therapist, and to hear her and her mentor talk about it, she's a good one. That one mistake, the death of Laura, is tied inexplicably to the death of her father, and while we can see that they are connected, we don't get to truly see that until closer to the end of the book, when all is revealed.
Mickey discovers that her absentee father has died through his obituary in the newspaper. He left her and her mother to pay off his incredible debts and suffer the fallout of his alcoholism when she was incredibly young, and she doesn't seem to feel much more than incredible (and understandable) resentment towards him. Sadly, she has been struck by the same disease as him; she can't get through a day without drinking heavily, but she is in denial.
When Tom (her father's lawyer) tells her that if she completes seven sessions with a therapist, she will inherit his $5.5 million fortune, she's initially a little hesitant, but on the back of losing her job, she agrees.
I can't help but feel her dad, even in death, was being a little cruel. Sending his older, abandoned daughter to therapy with his younger one, the girl who was charged with his care as he died slowly of liver failure.
My heart broke for Mickey as she started to realise that she did have a drinking problem. She went through all the stages of denial, reaching acceptance when an avoidable accident occurs that ends up hurting someone she does care about. Through her life, she has isolated herself, pushed everyone away and been forced to attend therapy, feeling responsible for Ian and his reluctant carer Chris. Meeting Arlo (though she's unaware of who the younger woman is) is painful.
The relationship between the two women is complex, as neither is initially aware of who the other is. Arlo is resentful of the sister who didn't care for their father but got all his money, and Mickey is angry at the family that got the life she and her mother were denied. Yet, both suffered.
Wow, I have a lot to say about this book, but I guess what's most important is that it's a painful study in family dynamics. The misunderstandings, the resentment due to a belief that one got something the other didn't, when in reality they both suffered for their father's dependence on alcohol and his lack of true consideration for anyone but himself. I guess the real lesson to take away here is that you have to take responsibility for yourself, but having a support network helps you cope with the tough stuff.
I would definitely recommend, and while I did find myself getting angry with, and groaning at, the actions of the characters as they made mistake after mistake on their journey to the right place, that's a good thing!
Mickey is a kindergarten teacher; she loves working with the children, and that much is obvious. But when she takes young Ian off the school premises because his mother hasn't shown up to collect him, she jeopardises her job.
Arlo is mourning her father, and the life of a young girl who committed suicide under her care. She's a therapist, and to hear her and her mentor talk about it, she's a good one. That one mistake, the death of Laura, is tied inexplicably to the death of her father, and while we can see that they are connected, we don't get to truly see that until closer to the end of the book, when all is revealed.
Mickey discovers that her absentee father has died through his obituary in the newspaper. He left her and her mother to pay off his incredible debts and suffer the fallout of his alcoholism when she was incredibly young, and she doesn't seem to feel much more than incredible (and understandable) resentment towards him. Sadly, she has been struck by the same disease as him; she can't get through a day without drinking heavily, but she is in denial.
When Tom (her father's lawyer) tells her that if she completes seven sessions with a therapist, she will inherit his $5.5 million fortune, she's initially a little hesitant, but on the back of losing her job, she agrees.
I can't help but feel her dad, even in death, was being a little cruel. Sending his older, abandoned daughter to therapy with his younger one, the girl who was charged with his care as he died slowly of liver failure.
My heart broke for Mickey as she started to realise that she did have a drinking problem. She went through all the stages of denial, reaching acceptance when an avoidable accident occurs that ends up hurting someone she does care about. Through her life, she has isolated herself, pushed everyone away and been forced to attend therapy, feeling responsible for Ian and his reluctant carer Chris. Meeting Arlo (though she's unaware of who the younger woman is) is painful.
The relationship between the two women is complex, as neither is initially aware of who the other is. Arlo is resentful of the sister who didn't care for their father but got all his money, and Mickey is angry at the family that got the life she and her mother were denied. Yet, both suffered.
Wow, I have a lot to say about this book, but I guess what's most important is that it's a painful study in family dynamics. The misunderstandings, the resentment due to a belief that one got something the other didn't, when in reality they both suffered for their father's dependence on alcohol and his lack of true consideration for anyone but himself. I guess the real lesson to take away here is that you have to take responsibility for yourself, but having a support network helps you cope with the tough stuff.
I would definitely recommend, and while I did find myself getting angry with, and groaning at, the actions of the characters as they made mistake after mistake on their journey to the right place, that's a good thing!