Letters to my Daughters

Author/Guide: Emma Hannigan

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: When letters go missing, three sisters are desperate to find out what they said

ISBN: 978-1473660052
Genre: Sagas

Comment

What you need to know before your trail

The three Brady sisters have always been closer to their nanny May than to their own mother, Martha. May has always thought of them as her daughters and treated them as such so when she dies suddenly, the sisters are left devastated. Their grief magnifies when they find out that May left them final letter full of advice about life and love, but these have gone missing=

But what words of advice could the sisters need? They all seem to have happy lives and are settled.

Except that each of the sisters carries a secret …

And as they gather for the reading of May’s will in Dublin, they must face some life-changing decisions. Will they ever learn the words of advice May had for them, and discover who took the letters?

Locations

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Travel Guide

Dublin

Dublin is a four hour drive away from Connemara where Martha lives. And Jeannie is living in LA so she is going to find a huge difference when she comes back to Ireland. This is the big, bustling city they all attended the funeral in and is where they all head back to, in order to hear the will being read out.

Connemara

Martha loves her life in quiet Connemara and has even joined a book club although she admits she’s only gone twice. She’s not that keen on the potluck diners husband Jim likes when friends bring round a dish of their choice but the banter and the fun is what she’s encouraged to do more of.

The places in the novel such as Pebble Bay are fictional but the area of Connemara and of course Dublin are very real indeed.

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

I could barely get through this without crying. It’s a sad and emotional story – siblings gather in Dublin for the reading of a will. It’s not of their mother though but their nanny who has been the parent they never really had. This got me going and I was only a few pages in!

The three sisters in the book Beatrice, Rose and Jeannie are all very different and successful in their own way but all become emotional wrecks when faced with their past. There are secrets in those missing letters and I was very curious to find out what was in them and who had taken them and why!

The story flows like a song, an ode to love and family and the simmering tension helps the story along – but what is really nice to see is the dynamic between the sisters, their beloved Nanny and how they cope. I think everyone can take something from this novel – a nice facade doesn’t always mean a comfy home and family at the end of the day is all you really need.

Emma has so bravely put up a struggle against cancer and sadly seems to be losing her fight. If her books have brought you even one second of joy, wouldn’t it be lovely to read this one, review it and say thank you to her for this final book and her other ones too. A small homage to a wonderful lady and writer – no one should have to fight illness like she has – yet throughout she’s kept writing, kept hopeful and still gave joy to all of her many many readers.

Let’s give her a book hug, a thank you for her wonderful words, her wonderful spirit which comes across in her writing and may her books continue to spread joy to even more readers.