First published 2020
Tommy stands with her mother and younger sister Katherine at an Ohio train station in 1910, heading west to start over. In Montana, while their mother teaches in rural schoolhouses and fights for women's suffrage, Tommy sacrifices her education to care for Katherine. She traps animals, begs for food, and keeps house so her sister can attend school. When Katherine finally graduates, Tommy makes a choice that splits them apart forever. One sister heads to California, the other to New York. The story follows Tommy across decades and continents, from Montana farmland during drought to a Victorian house in Maine, from a London psychiatric hospital to the fitting rooms of Bergdorf Goodman. Through marriages, betrayals, and family reunions, Tommy navigates the changing landscape of 20th-century America. Her granddaughter Isadora pieces together Tommy's journey years later, discovering the stories her grandmother told and the truths she kept hidden. McPhee reveals how one woman's sacrifices echo through generations.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-saga, generational-saga, sisters
Setting: California, Maine, Montana, New York, Ohio, London
Period: 1910, 20th-century
416 pages · Kindle Edition · Scribner