We Are the Brennans
Page 29
Denny understood. In many ways this ending seemed inevitable. She had delayed it, but really it had been set in motion one terrible night five years ago.
“Well,” she said, taking a deep breath and pulling herself up in her seat. Her eyes swept around the table and landed on Denny. “We need a plan.”
He slumped back against his chair, feeling the entire weight of those words, the complications and risks involved. As if the old man hadn’t given them enough to deal with already …
But she was right. They would do everything they could to protect their father, and each other, because that’s what family did. They all screwed up, made mistakes, and hurt one another. But in the end they came together.
Even his parents had done the best they could. As misguided as they’d been, they thought they were protecting the family. Both of them had missed the mark, just like Denny had for a time. Family didn’t mean hiding the hard stuff from each other, it meant facing it together. And it meant forgiving each other.
Making some kind of peace with it all caused an uplifting in his chest, and he imagined his mother looking down on them now, sitting together at the kitchen table where so much of their lives had happened. In the big white house she’d always loved, a few blocks from the neighborhood pub she helped make possible. In the tranquil town she’d chosen as the best place to raise this family.
There would be a plan and, whatever happened, they would figure it out. Together.
Acknowledgments
I will be forever grateful to the people who believed in this novel and were essential to getting it out into the world:
Stephanie Cabot, my amazing agent, for seeing the diamond in the rough and helping me improve the book by miles. Your guidance and support are invaluable to me.
The incredible team at Celadon: Deb Futter, for challenging me to find a different plot twist that got us to the same place and made for a much richer story. Randi Kramer, for all the spot-on editorial suggestions and being there to pull me out of rabbit holes. Rachel Chou, Christine Mykityskyn, Jaime Noven, and Jennifer Jackson, for working so hard on behalf of this book. Anne Twomey, for creating the most perfect cover. Rebecca Ritchey, for making social media less scary. I am thankful every day to be working with all of you.
Deborah Johnson, my talented instructor and early draft reader, for assisting me with bringing this story to a whole new level by asking all the right questions.
My crew, the people who keep me going through this solitary endeavor and add so much to my work and my life: Jessie Weaver—available at all hours to talk me off the ledge—Steve High, Carol Merchasin, Bob Murney, and Kim Young. This book would not have seen the light of day without you, and every time I read it I see your influence on the pages.
Angie Dail and Sue Deitz, who were excited for me when I couldn’t get there yet.
And biggest thanks to my family:
Louis O’Hare, my father, for always keeping us tied to our deep roots in Ireland, and for sharing countless stories about your upbringing and your immigration to the States almost sixty years ago. Also, for knowing this part of New York so well and answering all my nitty-gritty questions. Kathleen Murphy, my mother, for reading early work and being a cheerleader every step of the way. Kevin O’Hare, my brother, for being a sounding board when I had tough decisions to make.
And greatest thanks to my guys, Fred, Will, and Ben. I wrote this novel in our kitchen, which has always been the heart of our home, and the perfect place to write about family. I welcomed all your interruptions, which fed my soul, and this story. Thank you for believing I could never fail.
ABOUT CELADON
Founded in 2017, Celadon Books, a division of
Macmillan Publishers, publishes a highly curated
list of twenty to twenty-five new titles a year. The
list of both fiction and nonfiction is eclectic and
focuses on publishing commercial and literary
books and discovering and nurturing talent.
About the Author
Born in the Bronx and raised in Manhattan, TRACEY LANGE comes from a large Irish family with a few secrets of its own. She headed west and graduated from the University of New Mexico before owning and operating a behavioral healthcare company with her husband for fifteen years. While writing her debut novel, We Are the Brennans, she completed the Stanford University online novel writing program. Tracey currently lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, two sons and their German shepherd. You can sign up for ebook updates here.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter One. Sunday
Chapter Two. Denny
Chapter Three. Sunday
Chapter Four. Mickey
Chapter Five. Kale
Chapter Six. Denny
Chapter Seven. Sunday
Chapter Eight. Kale
Chapter Nine. Jackie
Chapter Ten. Sunday
Chapter Eleven. Denny
Chapter Twelve. Kale
Chapter Thirteen. Vivienne
Chapter Fourteen. Sunday
Chapter Fifteen. Denny
Chapter Sixteen. Kale
Chapter Seventeen. Jackie
Chapter Eighteen. Mickey
Chapter Nineteen. Sunday
Chapter Twenty. Kale
Chapter Twenty-One. Denny
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
WE ARE THE BRENNANS. Copyright © 2021 by Tracey Lange. All rights reserved. For information, address Celadon Books, a Division of Macmillan Publishers, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.celadonbooks.com
Cover design by Anne Twomey
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Lange, Tracey, author.
Title: We are the Brennans / Tracey Lange.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY: Celadon Books, 2021. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2021005982 | ISBN 9781250796226 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250796202 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Catholic families—Fiction. | Irish Americans—Fiction. | Family secrets—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3612.A566 W4 2021 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021005982
eISBN 9781250796202
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: 2021