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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The renowned author of The Women presents a poignant, funny, luminous novel about a mother and daughter—the complex ties that bind them, the past that separates them, and the healing that comes with forgiveness.
“[Kristin] Hannah is superb at delving into the characters’ psyches and delineating nuances of feeling.”—Washington Post Book World
Years ago, Nora Bridge walked out on her marriage and left her daughters behind. She has since become a famous radio talk-show host and newspaper columnist beloved for her moral advice. Her youngest daughter, Ruby, is a struggling comedienne who uses her famous mother as fuel for her bitter, cynical humor. When the tabloids unearth a scandalous secret from Nora’s past, their estrangement suddenly becomes dramatic: Nora is injured in an accident and a glossy magazine offers Ruby a fortune to write a tell-all about her mother. Under false pretenses, Ruby returns home to take care of the woman she hasn’t spoken to for almost a decade.
Nora insists they retreat to Summer Island in the San Juans, to the lovely old house on the water where Ruby grew up, a place filled with childhood memories of love and joy and belonging. There Ruby is also reunited with her first love and his brother. Once, the three of them had been best friends, inseparable. Until the summer that Nora had left and everyone’s hearts had been broken. . . .
What began as an expose evolves, as Ruby writes, into an exploration of her family’s past. Nora is not the woman Ruby has hated all these years. Witty, wise, and vulnerable, she is desperate to reconcile with her daughter. As the magazine deadline draws near and Ruby finishes what has begun to seem to her an act of brutal betrayal, she is forced to grow up and at last to look at her mother—and herself—through the eyes of a woman. And she must, finally, allow herself to love.

From the Publisher

Summer Island: A Novel – Clean, SEO-Optimized Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From the renowned author Kristin Hannah, Summer Island is a poignant, emotional, and beautifully written novel about the complex bond between a mother and daughter, the pain of the past, and the healing power of forgiveness.

Praised for her deep psychological insight, Kristin Hannah explores the emotional layers of family relationships with sensitivity and realism. As noted by Washington Post Book World, she is “superb at delving into the characters’ psyches and delineating nuances of feeling.”

A Story of Estrangement, Memory, and Second Chances

Years ago, Nora Bridge walked away from her marriage and left her daughters behind. Over time, she rebuilt her life and became a successful and admired radio talk-show host and columnist, known for her moral advice and public wisdom.

Her youngest daughter, Ruby, grows up in the shadow of that abandonment. Now an adult, Ruby is a struggling comedian who channels her pain and resentment toward her famous mother through sharp, cynical humor.

When a scandal from Nora’s past resurfaces in the media, their fragile distance collapses. After Nora suffers an accident, Ruby is offered a lucrative opportunity to write a tell-all article about her mother. Reluctantly, she returns home under the guise of caring for her estranged mother—ready to uncover the truth behind the woman she believes she has always hated.

Return to Summer Island

Nora suggests they return to Summer Island in the San Juan Islands—the place where Ruby grew up, a home filled with memories of love, safety, and heartbreak.

There, Ruby is also reunited with her first love and his brother—friends from a past she has tried to forget. Together, they are reminded of a time before everything fell apart, when life felt simple and whole.

As old memories resurface, Ruby begins to see her mother in a completely different light—not as the cold, absent figure she once believed, but as a complex woman shaped by her own struggles, regrets, and vulnerabilities.

A Journey from Betrayal to Understanding

What begins as a professional assignment slowly transforms into something far more personal. As Ruby writes her story, she is forced to confront not only her mother’s past, but also her own emotional wounds.

The line between truth and betrayal becomes increasingly blurred as she realizes that understanding her mother may require rethinking everything she believed about her childhood.

With the magazine deadline approaching, Ruby must make a life-changing decision—whether to expose her mother or finally embrace forgiveness and emotional truth.

Themes and Emotional Depth

Summer Island explores powerful and relatable themes, including:

Mother-daughter relationships
Abandonment and reconciliation
Forgiveness and emotional healing
The complexity of memory
Love, loss, and personal growth

It is a deeply emotional story that reflects how time and perspective can reshape even the most painful relationships.

SEO-Focused Summary

Summer Island: A Novel by Kristin Hannah is a bestselling contemporary fiction story about a strained mother-daughter relationship that is tested by past trauma, media scandal, and emotional rediscovery. Set against the backdrop of Summer Island, the novel explores themes of forgiveness, family conflict, and healing through love and understanding.

Ideal for readers who enjoy emotional, character-driven storytelling, this novel delivers a powerful journey of reconciliation and personal growth.