They all lived through that terrible Christmas. The problem is, they remember it differently...
Sisters Penny and Victoria seem to have nothing in common - except perhaps envy. Penny seems blessed with a perfect work-life balance, though only she knows how underpaid and underappreciated she is, while Victoria appears to have everything she could wish for - along with a growing list of neuroses that keep her teetering on the brink of breakdown.
For years the sisters have been at odds for reasons they don't quite understand. What they do know is that everything changed on Christmas Eve 1976, when a shocking chain of events fractured the family forever. But when a fresh tragedy strikes, it becomes clear that Victoria remembers a lot more about that horrific day than she's letting on...
As secrets from their childhood are forced to the surface, the sisters must confront the shadows of the past together. Because, as they come to learn, as long as the truth remains bottled up, their relationships with each other, and to the past, can never heal.
Revised edition: This edition of The Bottle of Tears (also published as Let the Light Shine) includes editorial revisions.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Sisters Penny and Victoria seem to have nothing in common - except perhaps envy. Penny seems blessed with a perfect work-life balance, though only she knows how underpaid and underappreciated she is, while Victoria appears to have everything she could wish for - along with a growing list of neuroses that keep her teetering on the brink of breakdown.
For years the sisters have been at odds for reasons they don't quite understand. What they do know is that everything changed on Christmas Eve 1976, when a shocking chain of events fractured the family forever. But when a fresh tragedy strikes, it becomes clear that Victoria remembers a lot more about that horrific day than she's letting on...
As secrets from their childhood are forced to the surface, the sisters must confront the shadows of the past together. Because, as they come to learn, as long as the truth remains bottled up, their relationships with each other, and to the past, can never heal.
Revised edition: This edition of The Bottle of Tears (also published as Let the Light Shine) includes editorial revisions.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Used availability for Nick Alexander's The Bottle of Tears