Between Sisters

Between Sisters (2003) is a novel by American author Kristin Hannah. Originally published by Ballantine Books, Between Sisters is a work of contemporary women’s fiction. The novel is set between Seattle and Hayden, Washington, and traces sisters Meghann (Meg) Dontess’s and Claire Cavanaugh’s attempts to rekindle their relationship. Written from the third-person point of view, Between Sisters explores themes including the Complexities of Love in Various Forms, Personal Growth via Facing the Past, and the Pursuit of Forgiveness and Reconciliation. Hannah is a renowned American novelist best known for The Nightingale (2015). Her over 20 novels have been adapted for the screen, translated into dozens of languages, and received accolades in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere.

This guide is based on the 2020 Ballantine Books paperback edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The source text and guide feature depictions of cursing, sexual content, child abuse, death, death by suicide, illness, mental illness, physical abuse, and graphic violence. 

Plot Summary

Forty-two-year-old Meghan (Meg) Dontess lives in Seattle, Washington, where she works as a family law attorney. While Meg is a successful lawyer, financially stable, and owns a ritzy condo in the city, she is unhappy. One day, she goes to see her therapist of four years, Harriet Bloom. Harriet urges Meg to examine her fraught past with her sister, Claire Cavanaugh, and mother, Eliana Sullivan (Mama), to understand her frustrations in the present. Meg insists that her past has nothing to do with her present life and storms out. She tries dismissing the onslaught of memories that follows her after she leaves Harriet’s office.

Years prior, Meg and Claire were living in Bakersfield, California, with Mama. Mama abandoned the girls to film a new movie. Alone and scared, Meg contacted Claire’s estranged biological father, Sam. (Mama left Sam without telling him she was pregnant with Claire.) Sam was shocked to hear he had a daughter but told Meg she and Claire could stay with him in Hayden. Sam welcomed Claire with open arms. Feeling left out of their relationship, Meg started acting up. Soon, she decided to leave. She’d always been Claire’s protector but decided that Claire didn’t need her now that she had Sam.

In the present, Meg and Claire occasionally talk to each other on the phone but haven’t seen each other in years. Meg dismisses thoughts of Claire and stops in at the Athenian tavern downtown. She takes a young man home with her to dull her loneliness. After he leaves, she lies in bed musing on her situation.

Meanwhile, Claire lives in Hayden with Sam and her daughter, Ali. She’s been helping Sam run his River’s Edge Resort since she dropped out of school. Ali’s dad left her before Ali’s birth, so Claire has been raising her alone ever since. She’s happy with her life but sometimes wonders if she could have more. One weekend, she takes a trip with her girlfriends to the lake. While out dancing one night, she meets an attractive singer-songwriter named Bobby Jack Austin. She and Bobby fall in love at first sight.

Claire calls Meg 10 days later to say that she’s getting married to Bobby. Meg is shocked and judgmental. She hasn’t met Bobby but is convinced Claire is throwing away her life. Meg decides to accept her partner’s pleas to take time off work and travel to Hayden to break up Claire’s engagement.

Meanwhile, Joe Wyatt makes his way back to Hayden after three years on the road. When he helped his wife, Diana, die by assisted suicide, he was overcome by remorse and sorrow. (Diana had cancer, and she wanted Joe to put her out of her pain.) Three years later, Joe is tired of being alone in the wilderness. He returns to Hayden hopeful that his former community will forgive him for his involvement in Diana’s death.

Meg drives to Hayden and meets Claire and Bobby. She realizes that Claire is indeed in love. She decides to quiet her opinions and invest in Claire’s wedding. Much to Claire’s surprise, Meg takes it upon herself to plan the event and buy Claire’s dress.

Feeling out of sorts after Claire’s wedding shower, Meg wanders into a local tavern and meets Joe. The two go home together and have sex. In the days following, neither Joe nor Meg can stop thinking about each other. They spend the next week meeting up and sleeping together intermittently.

After the wedding, Claire and Bobby go on their honeymoon. In their absence, Meg takes care of Ali. At the end of the week, she’s sad to say goodbye to her niece, with whom she’s established a bond. Then one day, Claire calls to say she needs Meg’s help. She tries to get home but doesn’t know where she is or what she’s doing. Meg races to her side and rushes her to the emergency room. After numerous tests, Claire is diagnosed with brain cancer.

Meg finds the best doctor that she can at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. Claire stays with her while she undergoes radiation treatment. At the end of the month, the doctors inform Claire that the tumor is still inoperable. Meg notices a photo on the wall in the doctor’s office that includes Joe. The doctors reveal that he’s a skilled radiologist but left the field after Diana’s death. Meg races to his apartment and demands that he analyze Claire’s scans. Joe reluctantly agrees and discovers another option for Claire. He phones an old colleague who agrees to perform Claire’s operation.

Claire’s surgery goes well. The next week, the doctors inform her that they entirely removed the tumor, which they discovered was benign. Thrilled, Claire shares the news with her family and friends.

A year later, Claire lives a happy, healthy life with Bobby and Ali. Meg is in a serious relationship with Joe, and they’re thinking about getting married.