A Family Affair: A Novel

This women's novel is full of wisdom about personal growth and family relatiinships. It has some very emotional moments and unforgettable scenes.

When Anna McNichol's husband dies suddenly while on a whitewater rafting trip, wheels are set in motion to divulge long-kept secrets with significant implications for Anna and her three children. The drama begins to unfold when Mr. McNichols' will reveals that he has left a tenth of his estate to an undisclosed person or charity. Anna makes it her business to find out who or what this might be. I enjoyed the other major characters in the book, including Anna's surprising new love interest, and her three adult children who are oh-so-different. Her oldest daughter has serious relationship issues, brought on by her overly needy behavior. The son was his father's favorite and is fiercely devoted to his father's memory. He struggles with commitment. The other daughter is on the autism spectrum, but functions relatively well most of the time, ironically having more stable relationships than the other two siblings. Anna's mother is in a nursing home where she needs to enter the memory care center. In her confusion, she makes some random comments that send Anna searching for not only one, but two mysterious persons. The loves and lives of the characters are what make "A Family Affair" by Robyn Carr a pleasure to read.

A death is hard in a family especially if it is a parent and when Anna and her children lose Chad, her husband and their father, it hits all of them hard in different ways. I had to wonder how the dad really treated the kids because it seems that in their own way, they are messed up in their own ways from anger to unrealistic expectations. Anna is one strong lady, but even she has doubts at times. Great book and must read!

Anna McNichol knows how to take charge. Raised by a single mother, she’s worked to ensure her three children have every advantage she didn’t. And while her marriage has its problems, she values commitment and believes in “till death do us part.” Now an empty nester, she’s at the peak of her career and ready to seize the opportunity to focus on her future. But life can change in an instant, and when her husband dies suddenly, Anna’s carefully constructed world falls apart. The mysterious young woman at the memorial service confirms her husband had been keeping secrets, and Anna is determined to get to the truth. For once, she doesn’t have the answers. Her kids are struggling with their grief, her mother’s health is in decline and Anna needs closure. Faced with one challenge after another, she finds support from an unexpected source. And as she puts her life back together, Anna realizes the McNichols may not be perfect but they’ll always be family, and family is forever. My Thoughts: As I began A Family Affair, I was immediately immersed in the lives of the characters, but felt especially connected to Anna, the matriarch. Her three grown children all had issues, and it fell on her to resolve them. A husband/father who had been disappointing had to be dealt with after his death. Even the children all had to move on with the help of therapy and their mother. When Anna turns to an old friend, a man who had been a comfort over the years, she began to realize that there was more between them. What will Anna find to cling to afterwards? She begins to realize that her own ability to stand on her own has never been in doubt. I enjoyed the story and the characters, and this book earned 4.5 stars. ***

I read a lot of Robyn Carr This book was good and unique I enjoyed the family concept It was a fast read