Together, Again by Milly Johnson

When Eleanor Vamplew passes away unexpectedly her daughters, Jolene and Marsha, are left to carry out her final wishes. In her will Eleanor has left almost everything to her third daughter Annis. The problem is that Annis walked out of the house at the age of sixteen and completely cut herself off from the family. 

Completely unexpectedly Annis turns up and the sisters spend the next few weeks slowly getting to know each other. The three women were born seven years apart so never really bonded as siblings, added to this were emotionally distant parents. As the women get to know each other we discover that their personal lives are suffering as a result of their upbringing. By sharing and supporting each other they begin to put things right.

Fans of Milly Johnson will recognise the basic premise of the story; three women who are all facing dilemmas in their personal lives. Over time they each face up to what is causing their problems and by supporting one another they manage to move on in their lives. What fans won't be familiar with are the much darker themes at the heart of the story. I really don't want to go into the details of the darker themes as they will give too much of the story away.

Jolene is the eldest of the three sisters, the reliable one. Jolene is a successful novelist and has been married to Warren for ten years. There are problems within the marriage but Jolene keeps explaining them away rather than facing them head on. It is easy to see that Jolene is seeking the love and support she didn't get as a child, she is frightened that by challenging her husband she will lose him.

Marsha is the middle sister, born seven years after Jolene. Marsha has never felt as if she was good enough, this stems from not being the boy her parents had hoped for. A lack of love from her parents meant that Marsha looked for it elsewhere and fell in love with a priest. The unrequited love has hampered Marsha from forming meaningful relationships.

Annis is the youngest of the sisters, born seven years after Marsha. There was resentment and jealousy between the girls as their father lavished his affection on Annis. When Annis walked out of the house at sixteen everyone was surprised as she gave no reason for leaving. 

As the sisters get to know each other they learn about how the lack of love from their parents impacted on their childhood and the decisions they made as adults. By understanding what each other went through and supporting each other they gain the strength to action change in their lives.

As you would expect their are a couple of knights in shining armour sprinkled through the story. Daz in particular adds a little bit of lightness to the story. Knights in shining armour is probably the wrong expression as they don't swoop in to save people, it's the sisters who save each other.

Together, Again by Milly Johnson will be published on 29th September 2022 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for a review copy.