Family History - Paperback

by Dani Shapiro (Author)

From the New York Times bestselling author of Inheritance and host of the hit podcast Family Secrets--"a bona fide page turner" (The New York Times Book Review) about the mysteries of teenage pain and family crisis.

Rachel Jensen is perfectly happy: in love with her husband, devoted to their daughter Kate, gratified by her work restoring art. And finally, she's pregnant again. But as Rachel discovers, perfection can unravel in an instant. The summer she is thirteen, Kate returns from camp sullen, angry, and withdrawn. Everyone assures Rachel it's typical adolescent angst. But then Kate has a terrifying accident with her infant brother, and the ensuing guilt brings forth a dreadful lie--one that ruptures their family, perhaps irrevocably.

Front Jacket

From the prodigiously gifted author of the acclaimed memoir Slow Motion, a stunning and brutally honest novel about one family's harrowing recovery from devastation.
Rachel Jensen is perfectly happy: in love with her husband, devoted to their daughter Kate, gratified by her work restoring art. And finally, she's pregnant again. But as Rachel discovers, perfection can unravel in an instant. The summer she is thirteen, Kate returns from camp sullen, angry, and withdrawn. Everyone assures Rachel it's typical adolescent angst. But then Kate has a terrifying accident with her infant brother, and the ensuing guilt brings forth a dreadful lie--one that ruptures their family, perhaps irrevocably. Family History" is a mesmerizing journey through the mysteries of adolescent pain and family crisis.

Author Biography

DANI SHAPIRO is a best-selling novelist and memoirist and host of the podcast Family Secrets (now in its seventh season). Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue, and Time. She has taught at Columbia and New York University and is the co-founder of the Sirenland Writers Conference. She lives in Litchfield County, Connecticut.