HENRY'S SISTERS

HENRY'S SISTERS by Cathy Lamb

From the book flap:

Ever since the Bommarito sisters were little girls, their mother, River, has written them a letter on pink paper when she has something especially important to impart.  And this time, the message is urgent and impossible to ignore - River requires open-heart surgery, and Isabelle and her sisters are needed at home to run the family bakery and take care of their brother and ailing grandmother.

Isabelle has worked hard to leave Trillium River, Oregon, behind as she travels the globe taking award-winning photographs.  It's not that Isabelle hates her family.  On the contrary, she and her sisters Cecilia, an outspoken kindergarten teacher, and Janie, a bestselling author, share a deep, loving bond.  And all of them adore their brother, Henry, whose disabilities haven't stopped him from helping out at the bakery and bringing good cheer to everyone in town.

But going home again has a way of forcing open the secrets and hurts that the Bommaritos would rather keep tightly closes - Isabelle's fleeting and too-frequent relationships, Janie's obsessive compulsive disorder, and Cecilia's self-destructive streak.  Working together to look after Henry and save their flagging bakery, Isabelle and her sisters begin to find answers to questions they never knew existed, unexpected ways to salve the wounds of their childhoods, and the courage to grasp surprising new chances at happiness.

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book!  It has to be my favorite of this year.  Ms. Lamb has brought together some of the most dysfunctional family members and made it all work.

Isabelle, because of a horrible experience as a teenager, engages in dangerous one-night stands.  Her twin sister, Cecilia, who is going through a rough divorce, has so much anger she can't control, so she eats and eats and runs the risk of serious health problems.  Janie lives on a houseboat, dresses like a frumpy old woman, counts and taps and checks things over and over, and writes horribly gory murder mysteries.  River is a shrew who can't show affection for her daughters.  The grandmother suffers from dementia and truly believes she is Amelia Earhart.  And Henry, their Down Syndrome brother, is the glue that hold this family together.

The sisters fight and scream and throw things, but their love for each other is unconditional.  But Henry is the one they all love the best.  His sweetness and innocence teach them all what love and forgiveness really is.

If you like books with great characters and great lessons about life, you absolutely must read this book.