A Family Affair

by ReShonda Tate Billingsley Narrated by Myra Lucretia Taylor

Overview

Award-winning author ReShonda Tate Billingsley, whose bestselling fiction " tackles some of life' s toughest situations" (The Florida Times-Union), unravels the secrets in a mother' s past that turn her daughter' s life upside down-- by revealing the family she never knew existed. Her dream of studying dance at Juilliard is within reach, but Olivia Dawson turns down the opportunity, choosing instead to stay with her ailing mother in the Houston projects where they barely make ends meet. Lorraine Dawson is Olivia' s whole world, and now Olivia insists on being there for her. But when Lorraine learns Olivia is sacrificing college for her sake, her heartache triggers a series of shattering events that results in Olivia discovering her father, a man she was told had died years ago. But he is alive and well-- and he' s the powerful CEO of one of the country' s richest corporations. With her best friend urging her to claim a much-deserved chunk of Bernard Wells' s fortune, Olivia seeks out his Los Angeles mansion. But it' s not money she wants-- it' s answers: Why did he abandon Lorraine when Olivia was three years old? Why did they suffer in poverty while he gave his " real" wife and son a life of luxury? Opening up the past, however, is more complicated than Olivia-- or Bernard-- expected, and the pain of yesterday' s sins must be confronted before true healing and a bright tomorrow can begin.

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Bernard Wells is an adulterer. Enraged that he fathered their live-in nanny's child, Adele Wells casts not him but his child and the nanny out of the mansion. She may be ruthless and melodramatic, but Adele can't stop fate from re-uniting the family. For the last 17 years, Olivia's mother, Lorraine, has scrimped, saved and sacrificed to give Olivia the best she can, but poverty has crushed their hopes. Things change quickly, however, when Lorraine finds an acceptance letter to Juilliard hidden beneath Olivia's mattress. Hours after Lorraine mysteriously rushes out of the house, Olivia discovers her mother has had a heart attack and arrives at the hospital just in time for a deathbed confession: Olivia's father is alive. He is the very wealthy Bernard Wells, CEO of England Enterprises. Olivia heads to Los Angeles. After all, what's left for her in Houston? She can't pay the rent, and the flame she carries for her ex-boyfriend is doused by the discovery that another woman is carrying his child. Confronting Bernard is no simple matter, though. Although he wants to help Olivia, he can't risk Adele's discovering that he has re-connected with his daughter. He devises a plan riddled with secrets, lies and money. He arranges for Olivia to work for him as an intern, along with his slacker son, Kendall, promising to back Kendall's music career if he lasts six months. Sworn to secrecy, Olivia cannot tell Kendall that she is his sister. Meanwhile, Bernard's mistress is becoming suspicious of the new, pretty intern who spends so much time with Bernard. The secrets swell and the payoff checks mount until an accident forces everyone to reveal the truth. Broken hearts and shattered trust follow. Note: an adaptation of Billingsley's novel Let the Church Say Amen, produced by Queen Latifa, will air on BET in Fall 2013. An overwrought novel from Billingsley (the author's previous books include Say Amen, Again, NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Fiction) that will nonetheless please fans.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170174669
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	12/20/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged

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