Family Tree by Susan Wiggs Published by William Morrow Publication Date: August 9th 2016
Pages: 368
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For readers of Kristin Hannah and Jodi Picoult comes a powerful, emotionally complex story of love, loss, the pain of the past—and the promise of the future.
Sometimes the greatest dream starts with the smallest element. A single cell, joining with another. And then dividing. And just like that, the world changes.
Annie Harlow knows how lucky she is. The producer of a popular television cooking show, she loves her handsome husband and the beautiful Manhattan home they share. And now, she’s pregnant with their first child.
But in an instant, her life is shattered. And when Annie awakes from a year-long coma, she discovers that time isn’t the only thing she's lost.
Grieving and wounded, Annie retreats to her old family home in Switchback, Vermont, a maple farm generations old. There, surrounded by her free-spirited brother, their divorced mother, and four young nieces and nephews, Annie slowly emerges into a world she left behind years ago: the town where she grew up, the people she knew before, the high-school boyfriend turned ex-cop. And with the discovery of a cookbook her grandmother wrote in the distant past, Annie unearths an age-old mystery that might prove the salvation of the family farm.
Family Tree is the story of one woman’s triumph over betrayal, and how she eventually comes to terms with her past. It is the story of joys unrealized and opportunities regained. Complex, clear-eyed and big-hearted, funny, sad, and wise, it is a novel to cherish and to remember.
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from AToMR in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
This is the first book I have read of Susan Wiggs and I really enjoyed it.
Annie thought she had it all – a loving husband, a great job, and a baby on the way. Of course, she was far from home living in LA running her and her husband’s cooking show but it was ok since she and her husband were doing what they loved. That was until it all came crashing down on her and in an instant, her life changed. Now Annie is struggling to relearn who she is after being in a coma for a year. She is back home in Vermont with her family but her husband and show are gone and the man she let walk away from her all those years ago is still here wanting her but is she still the same person who wants him.
Fletcher came from the wrong side of the tracks even in a small town of Switchback Vermont. Raised by a drifter single father people thought he wouldn’t amount to anything growing up. Now he is a sitting court judge and a single father he has earned the respect of the town. The one regret is letting Annie walk away all those years ago – but now she is back and not under the best of circumstances. Can he help her remember what they had all those years ago and if he can could they build something new?
This is a great story of love, heartbreak, self-discovery and my favorite second chances. The story does jump around quite a bit from the past to the present especially when Annie is trying to remember who she is; once I got used to that part of the story I really enjoyed it. There a lot of secondary characters especially the townspeople of Switchback but I really loved Fletcher’s son Teddy and of course, Annie and Fletcher. Told in dual POV’s I always enjoy seeing the story from both main characters views, and the author does a great job. This is a very sweet story so nothing hot and heavy but regardless Annie and Fletcher have great chemistry that does come off the page.
All in all I enjoyed this book and would read more from this author.
