I’m about to depart on a one-week trip to New York City. For many months, I’ve been organizing a first-ever global cousins gathering for my mother’s side of the family. In the internet age, the family tree has sprouted many more branches as relatives dug deep to find their roots. Most of us have never met or haven’t seen each other in decades. We cousins share a genetic predisposition for genealogy; now we’ll see what else we have in common… or not. This will be interesting!

Through the communication I’ve had with these cousins, I’m already forming images of who they are. One thing for sure: they are complex and interesting. Our family history and relationships would make a fascinating book but, were I to write it, I’d have to disguise it as a novel to protect the innocent! Would you say the same for your family?

Family relationships are great fodder for memorable books. Here’s a sampling of titles I haven’t mentioned in previous posts, from some familiar authors and some new names; how many have you read?

Eight Cousins – Louisa May Alcott
Till We Had Faces – C.S. Lewis
The Hotel New Hampshire – John Irving
The Brothers K – David James Duncan
Nervous Conditions – Tsitsi Dangaremba
In the Unlikely Event – Judy Blume

Add a couple of books for children that feature family relationships:

Beezus and Ramona – Beverly Cleary
Coraline – Neil Gaiman
10,000 Dresses – Marcus Ewert

Note: I’m taking next week off from posting on my Blog while I’m taking a bite of the Big Apple.