finished reading

This book is just what I needed--unlikeable characters who grew on me.  The three Sunshine sisters couldn't be more different.  Each is shaped by their self-involved mother and that lack of parenting manifests differently in their personalities.  The narrative shifts focus through the different characters in pivotal moments from childhood to adulthood.  Called together by their mother, who intends to make amends as she faces a terminal illness, the estranged sisters gather at their childhood home.  The sisters revisit old hurts yet manage to create new bonds.  I really enjoyed it--the characters are well-developed.  And the author narrates it wonderfully!

From the publisher:

t was never easy, being one of Ronni Sunshine’s daughters. Publicly, she is the glamorous, successful, dramatic Hollywood actress. Privately, she is self-absorbed, angry, and a disinterested, narcissistic mother. Now in her seventies, Ronni has had strange symptoms for a while, but has refused to believe her she has ALS, a degenerative motor neuron disease. There is no cure.

Ronni’s three adult daughters – Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy – are largely estranged, both from her, and from each other. All are going through crises of their own. But Ronni is adamant that they must come home, and help her take her own life. As their mother’s illness draws them together to confront old jealousies and secret fears, they discover that blood might be thicker than water after all . . .