The Survivors Guide to Family Happin..., Maddie Dawson
The Survivors Guide to Family Happin..., Maddie Dawson
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The Survivor's Guide to Family Happiness

Author: Maddie Dawson

Narrator: Amy McFadden

Unabridged: 10 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 10/25/2016

Synopsis

Three women, three lives, and one chance to become a family—whether they want to or not.Newly orphaned, recently divorced, and semiadrift, Nina Popkin is on a search for her birth mother. She’s spent her life looking into strangers’ faces, fantasizing they’re related to her, and now, at thirty-five, she’s ready for answers.Meanwhile, the last thing Lindy McIntyre wants is someone like Nina bursting into her life, announcing that they’re sisters and campaigning to track down their mother. She’s too busy with her successful salon, three children, beautiful home, and…oh yes, some pesky little anxiety attacks.But Nina is determined to reassemble her birth family. Her search turns up Phoebe Mullen, a guarded, hard-talking woman convinced she has nothing to offer. Gradually sharing stories and secrets, the three women make for a messy, unpredictable family that looks nothing like Nina pictured…but may be exactly what she needs. Nina’s moving, ridiculous, tragic, and transcendent journey becomes a love story proving that real family has nothing to do with DNA.

About Maddie Dawson

Maddie Dawson grew up in the South, born into a family of outrageous storytellers. Her various careers as a substitute English teacher, department-store clerk, medical-records typist, waitress, cat sitter, wedding-invitation-company receptionist, nanny, day-care worker, electrocardiogram technician, and Taco Bell taco maker were made bearable by thinking up stories as she worked. Today she lives in Guilford, Connecticut, with her husband. She’s the bestselling author of four previous novels: The Opposite of Maybe, The Stuff That Never Happened, Kissing Games of the World, and A Piece of Normal.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Theresa on August 05, 2018

After her adopted mother dies, Nina’s desire to find her birth mother is renewed. The search takes her to find a sister, who was adopted into another family and has no desire to befriend Nina or meet her birth mother. Nina eventually wins Lindy over and moves on from her own divorce when she meets a......more

Goodreads review by Karen on October 31, 2023

The story begins in 1979 with Tilton O’Malley heading off to college leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend, Phoebe Mullen. Tilton is with another friend, A.J. Barnes. And… They decide to have a night on the town. But then… Tragedy strikes, and their lives are changed forever. It is now 35 years later.......more

Goodreads review by Suzanne on September 23, 2016

The book begins one evening in 1979. Tilton O’Malley is heading off to college leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend, Phoebe Mullen. Along with another friend A.J. Barnes, they decide to have a night on the town. Tragedy strikes this group, and their lives are changed forever. It is now 35 years la......more

Goodreads review by Cindy on October 31, 2016

The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness explores the importance of family and the many forms family can take. Nina Popkin is 35 years old, recently divorced and newly orphaned. Feeling adrift after her numerous significant life changes, she begins to search for her birth mother (she was adopted whe......more

Goodreads review by Amy on October 24, 2016

Full review on www.novelgossip.com Lake Union has done it again! They are quickly becoming one of my most valued and trusted publishers, it’s getting to the point where I’ll read anything they publish. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this one, but when this gorgeous book showed up in my mailb......more

Quotes

An Amazon Best Book of the Month: Literature & Fiction POPSUGAR Fall Must-Read Selection“Dawson (The Opposite of Maybe, 2014, etc.) is a generous storyteller, creating characters who are both complex and unexpected while being wholly relatable.” —Kirkus Reviews “In this heartfelt novel, Dawson (The Opposite of Maybe, 2014) weaves together the stories of three very different women who are bound by blood, delving deeply into the true meaning of family.” —Booklist “In Nina, Dawson (The Opposite of Maybe) introduces a lovable, flawed character challenged by day-to-day life and searching for love and a feeling of belonging...Nina is delightful and spirited, and her engaging, charming story illustrates the humor and quirkiness of life.” —Library Journal“Engaging writing and compelling characters seize readers from the first chapter of Dawson’s latest novel. The examination of family—in all its forms and fashions—makes this an ideal book club read.” —RT Book Reviews“Maddie Dawson writes a charming story about family in her new novel, The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness...an endearing story of love and loss.” —Associated Press“Maddie Dawson has been a longtime favorite writer of mine because she has the gift of tapping into the emotions and complexities of a woman's heart and effortlessly combining tension with joy. She's done it again with The Survivor's Guide to Family Happiness. Put it on your list of not-to-be-missed fiction.” —Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, cofounder of She Reads and author of The Things We Wish Were True“Like authors Liane Moriarty and JoJo Moyes, Maddie Dawson is one of those gifted writers who spins seemingly comic, romantic tales that tackle our most universal longings for love, connection, and family. In her newest book, she delivers the story of two sisters given up for adoption. Their journey to discover each other and the mother who gave them up is by turns heart-wrenching and laugh-out-loud hilarious. I loved every witty sentence.” —Holly Robinson, author of Chance Harbor and Beach Plum Island“Maddie Dawson has done it again. Witty, warm, and full of insights into life’s maddening complexities, her novels should come with a warning label: May cause tears, laughter, or all of the above.” —Sarah Knight, bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck

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