The Secret of Joy

The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate

Rebecca's beloved Father is dying of cancer. Just before passing away he reveals a lifetime secret to his daughter. He had a brief affair that produced a daughter. This revelation puts everything Rebecca has believed into a spin. How could her Father cheat on her Mother when she felt they were so happy? How could he completely ignore his other daughter's existence for all these years?

Rebecca sets out to find her sister after her Father's death. She finds Joy, and in the process learns and grows within herself.

Joy has lived her life in the absence of a father. She is hesitant to engage with Rebecca. This is the character in the book that touched me. When you grow up with someone and love them (Rebecca), it's impossible to see them the same as the person they abandoned (Joy). Joy is not interested in reading the letters her Father left behind. Why would she be? The letters were trite and for him, more than her. Rebecca is unable to understand Joy's feelings about the man who fathered her.

You can't just BE sisters in an instant. That relationship is something that has to develop over time. I enjoyed taking that journey with Joy and Rebecca in this relationship based novel.