Sister Cities

by Colette Freedman

A heartbreakingly funny story of four extraordinary sisters and their unforgettable mother, based on the critically acclaimed play and hit film directed by Sean Hanish and starring Jacki Weaver, Amy Smart, Stana Katic, Jess Weixler, Michelle Trachtenberg, Troian Bellisario, Kathy Baker, and Alfred Molina Four estranged sisters, Carolina, Austin, Dallas, and Baltimore—all from different fathers and named after the places they were born—reunite on the occasion of the alleged suicide of their mother, Mary Baxter. If there’s one thing that could be said about Mary Baxter, it’s that she never did anything halfway. Growing up in rural North Carolina, her only escape from a troubled home was through dance, a profession that took her all over the world and into and out of marriages with many complicated men. Through it all, Mary knew that she wanted daughters—and over the course of four decades, she wrote letters to her hoped-for and eventually real daughters, which they finally receive upon her death. Mary’s letters reveal a lot about her colorful existence, but they don’t answer the most important question... Why would this adventurous and free-spirited woman take her own life? While a raging storm traps them inside their mother’s island home, the Baxter sisters share memories, bicker, and drink too much vodka while they wait for the coroner to remove Mary’s body from the bathtub upstairs. As old animosities resurface and a dark secret threatens to tear the family apart, four very different women face a tragic Turn their backs on the only family they’ve ever known, or risk everything to protect one another?

304 pages, Paperback

Published December 2, 2016

About the author

COLETTE FREEDMAN COLETTE FREEDMAN- An internationally produced playwright with over 25 produced plays, Colette was voted “One of 50 to Watch” by The Dramatist’s Guild. Her hit musical Serial Killer Barbie played to sold out shows in 2015 in both Los Angeles and New Zealand.

Her play Sister Cities was the hit of the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe and earned five star reviews: It has been produced around the country and internationally, fifteen times including Paris (Une Ville, Une Soeur), Rome (Le Quattro Sorelle) and Australia. It is next up in Chicago August 2016. She wrote the film which is currently in post-production and stars Jacki Weaver, Alfred Molina, Jess Weixler, Stana Katic, Michelle Trachtenberg, Amy Smart, Troian Bellisario, Tom Everett Scott and Kathy Baker.

She has co-written, with International bestselling novelist Jackie Collins, the play Jackie Collins Hollywood Lies, which is gearing up for a National Tour.

In collaboration with The New York Times best selling author Michael Scott, she wrote the thriller The Thirteen Hallows (Tor/Macmillan).

Her novel The Affair (Kensington) came out January 29, 2013. The play of the novel earned both critical and commercial success as it toured Italy February through May 2013. Her sequel novel The Consequences (Kensington) came out January 28, 2014.

Her YA novel Anomalies (Select Books) came out February 9, 2016.

She also co-wrote the film And Then There Was Eve which is currently in pre-production and begins principal photography May 2016.

Reviews

[Lori Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the few times I liked the movie better. Four sisters who were pretty much estranged deal with family drama.