One of the hundred books a year I read:

Lisa Unger’s Heartbroken weaves together the stories of three women whose lives intersect at Heart Island, a small, privately owned island on a lake in the Adirondacks. At the center is Birdie Burke, the family matriarch who lives on the island during summers, carrying the weight of dark family secrets and a complex relationship with her daughter Kate.

Kate, struggling with her own family dynamics, brings her children to Heart Island for an extended stay, hoping to bridge the emotional distance with her mother while dealing with her husband’s financial troubles and her son’s increasing withdrawal. Despite her reservations about returning to a place filled with difficult memories, Kate believes this summer might help heal old wounds.

Meanwhile, Emily, a young waitress in a diner, finds herself entangled with a dangerous man named Dean. Trapped in a cycle of poor decisions and desperate for escape, Emily’s path eventually leads her to Heart Island, where her story dramatically converges with the Burke family saga.

The novel explores themes of family legacy, the weight of secrets, and the complex bonds between mothers and daughters. Through alternating perspectives, Unger reveals how past decisions echo through generations, shaping relationships and creating patterns that seem impossible to break. The island itself becomes a character, its isolated setting amplifying tensions and forcing confrontations that have been years in the making.

As the summer progresses, the narrative delves into Birdie’s journals, which contain revelations about the island’s history and the Burke family’s carefully guarded secrets. These entries provide crucial context for understanding the strained relationships and unspoken tensions that plague the family.

The story builds to a climactic confrontation when Emily and Dean’s presence on the island catalyzes a series of events that force long-buried truths to surface. Through this crisis, each woman must confront their own definitions of love, loyalty, and family, while grappling with the consequences of their choices.