A Family Matter: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel
Jun 2025 · Sold by Simon and Schuster
star
7 reviews
Ebook
240
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
About this ebook
A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • WINNER OF THE NERO GOLD PRIZE • “Burns like a sparkler, quick and mesmerizing.” —The New York Times • Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize
A young wife following her heart. A husband with the law on his side. Their daughter, caught in the middle. Forty years later, a family secret changes everything in this “quietly heart-scorching” (Barbara Kingsolver) debut novel.
1982. Dawn is a young mother, still adjusting to life with her husband, when Hazel lights up her world like a torch in the dark. Theirs is the kind of connection that’s impossible to resist, and suddenly life is more complicated, and more joyful, than Dawn ever expected. But she has responsibilities and commitments. She has a daughter.
2022. Heron has just received news from his doctor that turns everything upside down. He’s an older man, stuck in the habits of a quiet existence. Telling Maggie, his only child—the person around whom his life has revolved—seems impossible. Heron can’t tell her about his diagnosis, just as he can’t reveal all the other secrets he’s been keeping from her for so many years.
A Family Matter is an “intricately layered and infinitely nuanced” (Oprah Daily) exploration of love and loss, intimacy and injustice, custody and care, and whether it is possible to heal from the wounds of the past in the changed world of today.
A young wife following her heart. A husband with the law on his side. Their daughter, caught in the middle. Forty years later, a family secret changes everything in this “quietly heart-scorching” (Barbara Kingsolver) debut novel.
1982. Dawn is a young mother, still adjusting to life with her husband, when Hazel lights up her world like a torch in the dark. Theirs is the kind of connection that’s impossible to resist, and suddenly life is more complicated, and more joyful, than Dawn ever expected. But she has responsibilities and commitments. She has a daughter.
2022. Heron has just received news from his doctor that turns everything upside down. He’s an older man, stuck in the habits of a quiet existence. Telling Maggie, his only child—the person around whom his life has revolved—seems impossible. Heron can’t tell her about his diagnosis, just as he can’t reveal all the other secrets he’s been keeping from her for so many years.
A Family Matter is an “intricately layered and infinitely nuanced” (Oprah Daily) exploration of love and loss, intimacy and injustice, custody and care, and whether it is possible to heal from the wounds of the past in the changed world of today.
A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • WINNER OF THE NERO GOLD PRIZE • “Burns like a sparkler, quick and mesmerizing.” —The New York Times • Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize
A young wife following her heart. A husband with the law on his side. Their daughter, caught...
Discover more
Ratings and reviews
7 reviews
Paula Pugh
- Flag inappropriate
July 16, 2025
In 1982, a love relationship between two women became a scandal that society cannot abide by. A mother lost custody of her daughter by court order. She had to leave her daughter with no visitation rights. In 2022, the former husband has cancer. As he faces his diagnosis, his daughter begins to examine her life and wonder where her mother went. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
zoraida carpio
- Flag inappropriate
September 1, 2025
Im new in this page. / so Farr is ok. love yo read books / especially the. Bible.
Anna Ferrill
- Flag inappropriate
November 5, 2025
11 wa
About the author
Claire Lynch has a doctorate from the University of Oxford and is a professor of English and creative writing. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and on BBC Radio. She lives in Windsor, England, with her wife and three daughters.
Claire Lynch has a doctorate from the University of Oxford and is a professor of English and creative writing. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post and on BBC Radio. She lives in Windsor, England, with her wife and three daughters.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
