Review: From the Ashes of Scandal
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 10, 2013
In our world, a political sex scandal seems as frequent as a monthly full moon. How many times have we seen the "good wife" standing poker straight and silent next to her husband as he makes a public "mea culpa?"Tokunaga's book is a behind-the-headlines look at the emotional disintegration of those affected most deeply by a public figure's indiscretions -- his wife and children as well as the weak-willed politician himself who just can't keep it zipped.In 1988, California Congressman Dan Brath's wife Trina and her teenage daughters, Jill and Phoebe, lead a Norman Rockwell life of affluence and public service. Then a beautiful young Congressional intern disappears.Brath, suspected of having an affair with the young woman, is questioned. Although he is never arrested, the media has a field day with him. Trina stands by her man even though she knows he has cheated countless times before. Convicted by the court of public opinion, Brath's career is over. Even when the intern surfaces again, the damage has been done.Brath and Trina -- and daughters Lesley and Phoebe -- cannot return to the blissful life of privilege they once took for granted. Even worse, the happiness and emotional security they once shared have been shattered into so many pieces, that, like Humpty Dumpty, cannot be put together again.The next 2 decades find the disparate members of the family struggling against their demons. Only when they face the past -- and each other -- can they heal and embrace what the future may hold.I've never been disappointed when reading a novel by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga, and His Wife and Daughters is no exception. I give this a definite 2 thumbs up.