Summer Island by Kristin Hannah

Years ago, Nora Bridge walked away from her marriage and her children, choosing a life that would make her famous and deeply misunderstood. Now a celebrated radio host and columnist dispensing advice to millions, Nora remains a stranger to the daughter she left behind. Ruby Bridge, a struggling stand-up comic, channels her resentment into sharp, cynical humour, often at her mother’s expense.

When a long-buried scandal resurfaces and Nora is seriously injured, Ruby is offered a lucrative deal to expose her mother’s past. Instead, she returns home under false pretences, confronting the woman she has avoided for nearly a decade. Nora’s one request is that they escape to Summer Island, the family’s old house by the water, a place steeped in memories Ruby has tried to forget.

Back on the island, Ruby is drawn into the emotional landscape of her childhood, reconnecting with her first love and the friendships fractured the summer her mother left. As old wounds reopen, mother and daughter are forced to face the truths that shaped their lives, and the possibility of forgiveness that neither expected.