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Dateline: The Saga of the Power Struggle Inside the Dysfunctional Family of a Wealthy Newspaper Mogul
Lindsey believed she married newspaper heir Stan McBride for love back in 1939. But as the years pass she realizes it was just a family business deal. Stan didn't care about her at all, either then or now. But his father gained control of what he wanted - her family's paper mill in Oregon. And that's why Stan came to the altar.
Stan is the first-born son, in line to inherit a chain of newspapers in ten western states. The corporate offices are in San Francisco, where most of this historical fiction takes place surrounded by events between 1941 and 1973.
After Lindsey gives birth to twin boys in 1941 she quickly sees Stan favor his first-born son over the less-fortunate twin who arrived just a short while later. As the boys grow, she struggles to give them a balanced and grounded upbringing. But she repeatedly fails because Stan showers his attention on first-born Tipton and shows little affection for the other twin, Bradley.
She watches as young Tip becomes a bully who lords over Brad. "I just want a normal family where we all care about one another," she tells Sarah, her mother-in-law.
Sarah herself becomes estranged from Stan when her husband dies under embarrassing circumstances in 1953. Stan inherits the company and, after a bitter financial fight with Sarah, he refuses to have anything to do with her. But Sarah is stubborn and she continues a motherly relationship with Lindsey. "You're the daughter I never had," Sarah says. "The women in this family need to stick together."
Stan and Lindsey are growing farther apart and she wishes she could find a way to change the ultimate fate of her twins under the lock-tight family inheritance arrangement. When Stan dies someday, she wants both sons to get an equal share of the family's wealth. But instead, it's legally destined to all go to Tip.
Lindsey finds some old documents and journals from the time surrounding the boy's births and believes she may have found the solution. The always nosey Sarah desperately wants to learn what Lindsey has discovered, but her daughter-in-law will only tell her the vaguest of details. "No," Lindsey says. "It takes alot of character to be a strong female in this family. If I want to succeed I have to keep this to myself. They could stop me if they somehow learned what I've found."
Soon after, Lindsey walks in on Stan having an affair with his young secretary in his office on Valentine's Day. He struggles to regain her confidence but he finally wants a divorce. That only increases Lindsey's determination to break the legal bond that has caused her family to become so dysfunctional.
The family saga comes full circle in 1973 when Stan is killed in an auto accident. In separate discussions, Lindsey asks each son if he will agree to reorganize the company so both can share in the family wealth. The entitled Tip refuses. Brad believes that's impossible, but says he would change it if he could.
Without revealing everything, she coaches Brad on how to challenge Stan's Last Will and Testament. That's where the story both opens and closes. The executor of the estate is one of the top lawyers on the west coast. "You're groping for a loophole - but there aren't any," he tells Brad.
But is he correct? Or does Lindsey succeed in patching her family back together?
Stan is the first-born son, in line to inherit a chain of newspapers in ten western states. The corporate offices are in San Francisco, where most of this historical fiction takes place surrounded by events between 1941 and 1973.
After Lindsey gives birth to twin boys in 1941 she quickly sees Stan favor his first-born son over the less-fortunate twin who arrived just a short while later. As the boys grow, she struggles to give them a balanced and grounded upbringing. But she repeatedly fails because Stan showers his attention on first-born Tipton and shows little affection for the other twin, Bradley.
She watches as young Tip becomes a bully who lords over Brad. "I just want a normal family where we all care about one another," she tells Sarah, her mother-in-law.
Sarah herself becomes estranged from Stan when her husband dies under embarrassing circumstances in 1953. Stan inherits the company and, after a bitter financial fight with Sarah, he refuses to have anything to do with her. But Sarah is stubborn and she continues a motherly relationship with Lindsey. "You're the daughter I never had," Sarah says. "The women in this family need to stick together."
Stan and Lindsey are growing farther apart and she wishes she could find a way to change the ultimate fate of her twins under the lock-tight family inheritance arrangement. When Stan dies someday, she wants both sons to get an equal share of the family's wealth. But instead, it's legally destined to all go to Tip.
Lindsey finds some old documents and journals from the time surrounding the boy's births and believes she may have found the solution. The always nosey Sarah desperately wants to learn what Lindsey has discovered, but her daughter-in-law will only tell her the vaguest of details. "No," Lindsey says. "It takes alot of character to be a strong female in this family. If I want to succeed I have to keep this to myself. They could stop me if they somehow learned what I've found."
Soon after, Lindsey walks in on Stan having an affair with his young secretary in his office on Valentine's Day. He struggles to regain her confidence but he finally wants a divorce. That only increases Lindsey's determination to break the legal bond that has caused her family to become so dysfunctional.
The family saga comes full circle in 1973 when Stan is killed in an auto accident. In separate discussions, Lindsey asks each son if he will agree to reorganize the company so both can share in the family wealth. The entitled Tip refuses. Brad believes that's impossible, but says he would change it if he could.
Without revealing everything, she coaches Brad on how to challenge Stan's Last Will and Testament. That's where the story both opens and closes. The executor of the estate is one of the top lawyers on the west coast. "You're groping for a loophole - but there aren't any," he tells Brad.
But is he correct? Or does Lindsey succeed in patching her family back together?
274 pages, Paperback
First published January 16, 2013
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