As we reflect on the families we grew up in, we read stories and novels about siblings that perhaps remind us of our own experiences.
Sisters.
If you grew up with a sister you may remember the fights, the tears, the camaraderie, the secrets, and competition. You may have looked up to or felt inferior by the other. Perhaps you felt you were treated unfairly and when you left home, you took with you long-standing quarrels that were never resolved; both going their separate ways, hoping their paths would never cross.
Darlene Dubay is a first time Northwest author who has published her first novel about two sisters, their estrangement, setbacks and personal tragedies. Over the years, the sisters went their separate ways, married and had families. Separated geographically, they live two different lives that are full of tragedies, losses and re-discoveries.
Death, betrayal, troubled liaisons, and new loves and relationships are woven into this story of two sisters who are trying to find themselves amidst the fateful events that have touched their lives in different ways.
Both sisters suffer losses: one from death, another from infidelity. Both try to discover who they are within the complexities of their past and present lives. At the end of the novel they are brought together by a tragedy that impacts both sisters and their estranged families. But reconciliation is difficult as perceived hurts and injustices from their growing up years keep the struggle alive.
Woven into the story are Darlene’s own in-the-cockpit experiences as a professional Alaskan Airlines pilot. Darlene lived in Alaska and shares her background with flying in small planes as well. One of the sisters in her novel resides in Alaska, operating a small charter plane service. That sister’s husband flew the planes until he died in a plane crash when the son took over. We are privy to some of the beautiful, unspoiled wilderness of Alaska within the context of the story.
Darlene continues to write and is a member of the Skagit Writers. Her talents also include singing and we both sing with the Skagit Valley Chorale. It is a book you might enjoy reading.
Marlene Anderson
Also in the RELATIONSHIPS series:
Part 1: Relationships: Who Needs Them?
Part 2: Relationships: Where Do We Start?
Part 3: Relationships: Love Them or Hate Them