My fifth novel has been released: The Passionate Sister. In real life, my mother, Virginia Thorndike, died of an overdose at the age of 57. In the novel, she survives and fights to stay clean. Her fictional sons, Jamie and Rob, both need her help after Jamie’s gay partner comes down with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and Rob’s wife jumps ship, leaving him to care for their one-year-old twins. Ginny pitches in, but also hopes for a life of her own. Though in her family she was always the passionate sister, now she struggles to open up to her first lover in years. Slowly, she does. Passion returns, and they grow close.
Members of the Class of ’60 will recognize one of the characters in the book as a flamboyant Deerfield faculty member of our day.
– John Thorndike ’60
