Family Tree

by Susan Wiggs

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a powerful, emotionally complex story of love, loss, the pain of the past--and the promise of the future.

Sometimes the greatest dream starts with the smallest element. A single cell, joining with another. And then dividing. And just like that, the world changes. Annie Harlow knows how lucky she is. The producer of a popular television cooking show, she loves her handsome husband and the beautiful Los Angeles home they share. And now, she's pregnant with their first child. But in an instant, her life is shattered. And when Annie awakes from a yearlong coma, she discovers that time isn't the only thing she's lost.

Grieving and wounded, Annie retreats to her old family home in Switchback, Vermont, a maple farm generations old. There, surrounded by her free-spirited brother, their divorced mother, and four young nieces and nephews, Annie slowly emerges into a world she left behind years ago: the town where she grew up, the people she knew before, the high-school boyfriend turned judge. And with the discovery of a cookbook her grandmother wrote in the distant past, Annie unearths an age-old mystery that might prove the salvation of the family farm.

Family Tree is the story of one woman's triumph over betrayal, and how she eventually comes to terms with her past. It is the story of joys unrealized and opportunities regained. Complex, clear-eyed and big-hearted, funny, sad, and wise, it is a novel to cherish and to remember.

• ISBN10: 0062425471
• ISBN13: 9780062425478
• Publish Date: 9 August 2016 (first published 28 July 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[Heather]

I chose to read this book because of the mystery surrounding her grandmother's old cookbook. I wanted to see how it saved the family farm. You know, "living well is the best revenge" and all that.



This book is told in alternating time lines. In the present timeline, Annie has had an accident that put her in a coma. She's been moved to back to her hometown in Vermont. She wakes up not remembering much about her previous life.

In the flashbacks, you get the story of her growing up on the farm and falling in love with the new kid in town. Then you find out how she became the producer of a hit TV cooking show and met her husband.

I found myself getting bored with the flashbacks. I was much more interested in her current situation than with how she got here. I was glad when the storylines converged and it was all in the present.

 

How was the foodie content?

• You get the basics of how maple syrup is made


• You get a brief look at distilling whisky


• She did run a successful cooking show


• She really likes to cook

But what about the mysterious cookbook that saves the farm?  That gets into spoiler territory so I recorded some spoiler-full observations about the book if you are interested.

 

I would recommend this book to people who like romances with former partners. If you are most interested in the food portions of the book you might be a bit disappointed because it doesn't play as major of a role as I would have thought.

This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

Book Review: Family Tree by Susan Wiggs From the moment we are born, we are faced with risks and opportunities. As we mature, we have dreams about the life we would want to live and so we begin to make plans. However, as time progresses we come to realise that at times things don’t generally go the way we planned. Nevertheless, no matter the outcome, there is a lesson to be learnt. “Life is a Circle’ We always end up where we started.We may find ourselves being diverted from our goals by what we consider to be roadblocks. These generally come in the form of distractions, loss, and mistakes. However, as we try to push past these blocks we will come to realise that they had a purpose in our journey through life. These blocks were placed to teach us a valuable lesson. What we choose to do with this knowledge will determine the type of person we become in the end. I believe that it is on this premise that Family Tree by Susan Wiggs is based on.Family Tree tells the story of Annie Rush a big-time producer of the cooking show “The Key Ingredient”. Her husband, Martin Harlow was the celebrity chef on the show. Annie appeared to be happy and this happiness would increase exponentially when she found that one her biggest wish had been granted. She rushed to tell her husband the good news but little did she know that her life was about to change in a way she never for a moment could imagine. Fast forward one year later, Annie is awaking from a coma. At this point, she has come to realise that everything she has worked for was gone in the twinkling of an eye.The story moved slowly, but in a good way. It’s a story of rebirth, healing, family and love. I found the characters relatable. The story had a realistic feel and for a time I forgot I was reading fiction. It moved seamlessly between the past and the present. This allowed me to have an understanding of how Annie’s life unfolded between her teen and adult years. I learnt that she was bold, warmhearted, determined, goal-oriented, hard-working, strong and feisty. When she loves, she does so fiercely. I saw how much she loved her family. I loved how she was determined to follow her dream, but what I didn’t love was the fact that she was willing to sacrifice love to achieve this. By the time she realised how wrong, she was, it was too late. However, fate would step in and offer her a second chance. Will she seize this newfound opportunity?I found this to be a compelling and inspirational read. It is a stark reminder that life can be uncertain and it doesn’t often go has planned. Nevertheless, there is always hope, and when we choose to rise above the obstacles we open the door to something brighter and better.This is my first Susan Wiggs book and I will be looking to read more of her work. Received an eArc courtesy of the publisher via Edelweiss View all my reviews