A Cup of Redemption

Book excerpt: Like the braiding of three strands of brioche, the lives of three women—Sophie Zabél Sullivan, Marcelle Pourrette Zabél, and Kate Barrington—become inextricably intertwined as each struggles to resolve issues from past wars that have profoundly impacted their lives. Sophie believed her childhood nightmares were safely behind her once she married and moved to the U.S. from France —until she is called to her mother, Marcelle’s, deathbed to honor one final request: “Search for my father! Search for Pourrette!” Born on the last day of World War I, Marcelle, whose life epitomizes the human cost of war, never knew her father, yet carried the Pourrette name, along with the shame of illegitimacy, as did her two oldest sons born during World War II. Enlisting the expertise of a friend and family therapist, Sophie encourages Kate to join her in France to help find her grandfather scour the stain of illegitimacy from her family’s name. Unbeknownst to Sophie, Kate’s 34-year-old illegitimate daughter, given up for adoption during the Vietnam War, has recently reappeared. Kate, struggling with her own shame and guilt, pushes aside her feelings to join Sophie in France. Rising out of the collateral damage wrought by war, A Cup of Redemption is a touching story about love, loss, and the search for identity.