We Are The Brennans by Tracey Lange

 

My thoughts

An absolutely stunning debut. I read and enjoyed this authors second book THE CONNELLYS OF COUNTY DOWN and I'm looking forward to her next book, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MCCRAYS coming in January of 2025.

This is a very touching and loving family novel. The Brennans are a family that love one another no matter what. They have arguments and disagreements like most families but they are always there for each other. 

When Denny received a call from a cop saying his sister was in the hospital due to a bad wreck caused by her drinking and driving he got a flight and went to rescue her. He may have hesitated for a few seconds but he went. He loves his sister dearly. He loves his family. Two brothers and a sister, he also has a wife and a little daughter. Denny has a lot on his plate but he is still there for his family.

Sunday awakes in the hospital after a car wreck to find her brother there. She's grateful and very happy to see him. She goes back across the country with him. Home is where she needs to be. To heal both physically and emotionally. Sunday has a big secret that made her leave in the first place. She left the love of her life who has been a part of the Brennan family for many years. 

When all of the secrets are revealed you see this family stick together like no other. They are a strong force. Each has something going on but together they can overcome almost anything. Jackie is another brother to Sunday and he has held her deepest secret for five years. He tried to get her to tell but she was afraid and ran instead. When she finally faces what happened things take a turn. While the love of her life, Kale, is married and has a son their feelings for each other have not dimmed. What will happen to these two? Shane, the youngest brother, has a learning disability and his siblings rally around him always. This family has a lot of love to give. And a few secrets.

This was my BOTM choice add on. I am truly enjoying this author's books and look forward to her next one.

About

In the vein of Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's The Nest, Tracey Lange’s We Are the Brennans explores the staying power of shame―and the redemptive power of love―in an Irish Catholic family torn apart by secrets.

When twenty-nine-year-old Sunday Brennan wakes up in a Los Angeles hospital, bruised and battered after a drunk driving accident she caused, she swallows her pride and goes home to her family in New York. But it’s not easy. She deserted them all―and her high school sweetheart―five years before with little explanation, and they've got questions.

Sunday is determined to rebuild her life back on the east coast, even if it does mean tiptoeing around resentful brothers and an ex-fiancé. The longer she stays, however, the more she realizes they need her just as much as she needs them. When a dangerous man from her past brings her family’s pub business to the brink of financial ruin, the only way to protect them is to upend all their secrets―secrets that have damaged the family for generations and will threaten everything they know about their lives. In the aftermath, the Brennan family is forced to confront painful mistakes―and ultimately find a way forward, together.