Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain

Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain

St. Martin's Press

A master of fiction, Diane Chamberlain writes from her background as a therapist in this newest novel about a 14 year-old girl who learns about something taking shape in her family that threatens her father's life. I loved finding out about Diane's background because it helped me to understand her process for writing this novel. Molly is a keeper of secrets, and keeping secrets becomes difficult when you are trying to adopt a baby. Background checks, endless interview questions, it is tough trying to keep everything straight. Especially if you're trying to cover up secrets that have their origins in your childhood. It has been twenty years, and Molly's childhood in North Carolina that she has kept at bay comes screaming back in to the wheelhouse. It could not only destroy her marriage, but her chances for a successful adoption.As Molly struggles to come to grips, she must come to accept and work through her painful childhood without unraveling at the seams. Diane Chamberlain is the master of storytelling. Read the synopsis to see if this book may be something you'll want to add to your October reading bag!

Synopsis

Molly Arnette is very good at keeping secrets. She and her husband live in San Diego, where they hope to soon adopt a baby. But the process terrifies her.

As the questions and background checks come one after another, Molly worries that the truth she's kept hidden about her North Carolina childhood will rise to the surface and destroy not only her chance at adoption, but her marriage as well. She ran away from her family twenty years ago after a shocking event left her devastated and distrustful of those she loved: Her mother, the woman who raised her and who Molly says is dead but is very much alive. Her birth mother, whose mysterious presence raised so many issues. The father she adored, whose death sent her running from the small community of Morrison Ridge.

Now, as she tries to find a way to make peace with her past and embrace a future filled with promise, she discovers that even she doesn't know the truth of what happened in her family of pretenders.

Told with Diane Chamberlain's compelling prose and gift for deft exploration of the human heart, Pretending to Dance is an exploration of family, lies, and the complexities of both.

Happy reading!