From the New York Times bestselling author of The Bookshop at Water’s End , here is a lush, heart-wrenching novel about the power of memory, the meaning of family, and learning to forgive. Ten years ago, Lena Donohue experienced a wedding-day betrayal so painful that she fled the small town of Watersend, South Carolina, and reinvented herself in New York City. Though now a freelance travel writer, the one place she rarely goes is home—until she learns of her dad’s failing health. Returning to Watersend means seeing the sister she has avoided for a decade and the brother who runs the family’s Irish pub and has borne the burden of his sisters’ rift. While Alzheimer’s slowly steals their father’s memories, the siblings rush to preserve his life in stories and in photographs. As his secret past brings Lena’s own childhood into focus, it sends her on a journey to discover the true meaning of home. Praise for The Favorite Daughter "A satisfying read about family and forgiveness."—PopSugar "Henry's latest packs an emotional wallop, delving into the bonds and tragedies that make a family....Readers of thoughtful family dramas will be drawn to the travails of the Donohue clan."— Booklist “A gorgeous, deeply affecting story about a family reunited because of the father’s failing health….The novel is lyrical, engaging, uplifting, and real--forgiveness beckons all, even as secrets unravel.”— Christian Science Monitor “Readers will be immersed in this moving tale, hungry to learn whether love and family will overcome betrayal, secrets, and heartache.”— Publishers Weekly “Patti Callahan Henry is quickly becoming one of my favorites. [This] is a story of reflection, forgiveness, and surprising twists.”—Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author “ The Favorite Daughter is both heartfelt and heartbreakingly honest in its portrayal of a family once divided by scandal and brought together through the power of memories....Moving, intelligent, full of twists and turns, I loved it! Patti Callahan Henry shines at family dramas and The Favorite Daughter is her best!"—Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Guests “In exquisitely-wrought prose, Patti Henry lyrically examines the meaning of forgiveness and the inexorable tug of home.”—Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The High Tide Club “A layered, spellbinding novel about families and lovers and the meaning of home. Above all, it’s about memory, how it shapes us, fools us, and warms our hearts. This is one truly beautiful book.”—Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author of A Nantucket Wedding Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels include The Bookshop at Water’s End , The Idea of Love , The Stories We Tell , and Driftwood Summer . As Patti Callahan, she’s the author of the USA Today bestseller Becoming Mrs. Lewis . Short-listed for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, and nominated multiple times for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Book Award for Fiction, Patti is a frequent speaker at luncheons, book clubs, and women’s groups. ***This excerpt is from an advance uncorrected copy proof*** Copyright © 2018 Patti Callahan Henry PROLOGUE Memory is the seamstress, and a capricious one at that. Virginia Woolf, Orlando The wedding for Colleen Donohue, Lena to her family and friends, and Walter Littleton was ready to begin one spring afternoon. The Lowcountry of South Carolina preened, the temperature in the seventies without a hint of the summer humidity that would arrive soon, the river shimmering with glints of sunlight captured in its crests, the blooms of the azaleas and gardenias competing for attention. The air was soft as cashmere. For this very day much dreaming and planning had gone on behind the scenes, starting with the gown. Lena’s cream-colored lace dress, originally worn by Aunt Rosalind forty years before, had been remade for Lena’s taller body. Her ethereal and younger sister, Hallie, as the maid of honor, was adorned in a pale pink sheath dress with a circle of baby gardenias on her head, her straight blond hair falling to her shoulders. Lena’s loose curls had been tamed for the day and pinned high under a pearl crown and a veil edged with tiny Swarovski crystals. It was a small town, Watersend, South Carolina, nestled where the May River met the wide saltwater bay. The wedding was being held in the 1820s stone Episcopal church, full to overflowing. Although they weren’t church members, everyone in town did favors for the Donohues, even the priest—for Mr. Gavin Donohue, to be specific. Lena watched from the bride’s room window as outside the guests arrived in pairs and clusters. The ancient oak trees spread their gnarled limbs, offering shady protection, and sunlight filtering through the Spanish moss turning it to gossamer. “A mass migration,” Lena said to her mother, Elizabeth, who was fastening the last