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A darkly funny debut novel about two estranged sisters who are unknowingly thrown together by their problematic father's dying wish.
Mickey and Arlo are half sisters. But they've never spoken and never met. Arlo adored her father—but always lived in the shadow of his magnetic personality and burdensome vices. Meanwhile, their father abandoned Mickey and her mother years ago, and Mickey has hated him since. When she receives news of her father's passing, Mickey is shocked to learn that he's left her his not-inconsiderable fortune. The catch: Mickey must attend a series of therapy sessions before the money can be released.
Unbeknownst to either woman, the psychologist Mickey's father has ensured she meets with is her half sister, Arlo. Having cared for her beloved father on his sickbed, Arlo is devastated to discover he's cut her out of his will. She resolves to learn where the money went and why.
Working together as therapist and patient—with no idea that they're in fact sisters—Arlo and Mickey soon get under each other's skin. Arlo, eager to outrun a mistake in her professional past, is keen to redeem herself with her new client. But Mickey is far from the model patient. As Mickey's personal and professional lives spiral out of control and Arlo uncovers the truth about who her new patient really is, the sisters find themselves on a crash course that will break—or save—them both.
"The story hits hilarious highs and devastating lows as the two women grapple with the destructive ways they've coped with their father's noxious legacy. The result is charming, cringe-inducing, and poignant in equal measure." —Publishers Weekly
"Indeed, the only appealing characters are 5-year-old Ian, Mickey's favorite student, and Daria, Mickey's artist neighbor, whom Mickey betrays in the most appalling way. A thought-provoking but imperfect portrait of family dynamics from a promising newcomer." —Kirkus Reviews
"[Morgan] explores topics like mental health and addiction with warmth and panache." —Booklist
"So stunningly fresh and darkly funny that every page surprised me. Morgan Dick doesn't just craft a clever plot—she writes brilliantly about grief and addiction and inheritance and, yes, redemption." —Catherine Newman, author of the New York Times bestseller Sandwich
"I am in such awe of Favorite Daughter – the characters, the plot (delicious!), the various voices, the deliberate tenderness. This is a serious and important book, but it's also charming, funny and sweet." —Marian Keyes, author of My Favorite Mistake and Again, Rachel
This information about Favorite Daughter was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Morgan Dick is a writer from Calgary, Canada. Her short fiction has appeared in Grain, Geist, CAROUSEL, Cloud Lake Literary, The Prairie Journal of Canadian Literature, Vagabond City, and The Humber Literary Review. Her debut novel draws from her time working in the mental health field.
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