Daughter's Keeper - Hardcover

Waldman, Ayelet

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 140220096X ISBN 13: 9781402200960

Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc Landmark, 2003

Synopsis

How much would you sacrifice to save someone you love?

When Olivia, wild-haired and headstrong, makes a terrible mistake, she must turn to the person least likely to help--her mother, Elaine. Motherhood was a role that Elaine never embraced and her best never amounted to much. But now Olivia faces prosecution for a naïve connection to a drug deal and she needs Elaine more than ever. As the days count down and Olivia’s future hangs in the balance, Elaine must decide just how much she is willing to give for a second chance with her daughter.

With Daughter’s Keeper, Ayelet Waldman has crafted a redemptive journey at once highly emotional and unbearably suspenseful, as Olivia and Elaine’s struggle builds to a beautiful, heart-wrenching climax. In this luminous, gripping novel, Waldman brings to life the tensions and the tenderness that forge the unshakeable bond between parent and child. Daughter’s Keeper reveals the unlimited boundaries of forgiveness and the sacrifices we make for love.

"A powerhouse novel of complex emotions so compelling that when I finished the book, I started over again."--Amy Tan

"In Daughter’s Keeper, Ayelet Waldman shows that the power of love, even when prickling with thorns, can ultimately provide what the criminal system cannot: a hard-fought, hard-won second chance."--Glen David Gold, author of Carter Beats the Devil

"Waldman’s passion and affection for her characters shine through."--Publishers Weekly

"Waldman has written Daughter’s Keeper with enough intelligence, tenderness and craft to shape outrage into a story that is both moving and enthralling." --Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and You Shall Know Our Velocity!

"Ayelet Waldman has brought the war on drugs home, and has shown us just how close to home it can come....She looks past headlines and into the heart. What she finds there is hope for us all." --Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina

About this title

From the Publisher

"Ayelet Waldman's Daughter's Keeper is a powerhouse novel of complex emotions and legal intricacy, so compelling that when I finished the book I started over again. In a feat of storytelling, Waldman unfolds layers with intelligence and heart: An unwilling mother is trapped into raising an exasperating daughter. Her grown daughter is now trapped in a crime in which she was an unwilling participant. The story examines the question of responsibility and consequences within the law, between lovers, and among family. What penalties will be exacted for ambivalence? Just when we are sure the tenuous bond between this mother and daughter will permanently snap, Waldman deftly weaves the shreds into an outcome that is both devastating and uplifting. This is a book that made me cry with joy and recognition." —Amy Tan

"In Daughter's Keeper, Ayelet Waldman shows that the power of love, even when prickling with thorns, can ultimately provide what the criminal system cannot: a hard-fought, hard-won second chance." —Glen David Gold, author of Carter Beats the Devil

"Ayelet Waldman has brought the war on drugs home, and has shown us just how close to home it can come. Her mother and daughter reminded me of the women I most love and for whom I hold the greatest fear, those women and girls who fight tooth and nail, when their best hope lies in supporting each other. She looks past headlines and into the heart. What she finds there is hope for us all." —Dorothy Allison

"Waldman shapes outrage into a story that's always compelling, always compassionate -- always so close to real that it feels like nonfiction." —Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and You Shall Know Our Velocity!

"Be prepared to stay up all night—Waldman combines sophisticated psychology with savvy courtroom drama to create a turbulent and mesmerizing mother-daughter tale. Daughter's Keeper is a zippily intelligent and emotionally charged peephole into the peculiar politics that govern motherhood and the American legal system." —Heidi Julavitz, author of The Mineral Palace

"Ayelet Waldman masterfully explores the intricacies and complications of love between a mother and daughter. Set against the tension and complexities of the judicial system, Waldman skillfully balances each world with heartrending, searing truths. Smart and involving, it is a story of second chances, of reclaiming what has been lost, and of finding your way through the darkness and into the light." —Gail Tsukiyama, author of The Samurai's Garden

"A rivetting story, as generous as it is large; Waldman presents a tale that unfolds layer by layer, revealing the complexities of sacrifice and regret, along side that ultimate desire to DO RIGHT, in this triumph of mother-daughter love." —Elizabeth Strout, author of Amy and Isabelle

"I LOVE this book. I'm having a hard time concentrating on work today because I'm worried about Olivia and Elaine....It grabs you right in the gut and doesn't let go. The characters are so believable that I doubt they will ever leave me. I can see, taste and feel everything they are going through. The legal stuff is terrific too." —Elaine Petrocelli, owner of Book Passage

About the Author

Ayelet Waldman graduated from Harvard Law School and clerked for a federal judge prior to becoming a public defender. She is also the author of a successful mystery series including, among others, Nursery Crimes and The Big Nap. CBS is developing the mysteries for a TV series, and the pilot is being fast-tracked. She lives with her husband, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Michael Chabon, in Berkeley, California.

About this edition

• Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc Landmark
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 140220096X
• ISBN 13: 9781402200960
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352