Finally, Kenny’s story is written and published.
This is one of those books that just fell off my fingertips once I knew what direction I was going in.
Obviously, I would have loved to put everything I know about Kenny, Pat and their families in the book, but then we would have a 200k novel. No one wants that. So below are some background things that I didn’t mention in the book but could help you get a better picture of the characters and what drives them.
But before you dive in, make sure you’ve read the book because there will be major, major spoilers.
1: MEET THE LEAD CHARACTERS
30 year-old KENNEDY ‘KENNY’ CARTER is a complex, complex woman. On one hand she is a responsible, driven, loving and loyal woman who would do anything and sacrifice herself to protect the people she loves. But she’s also an alcoholic who is bitter about the cards life has handed her and is very jaded when it comes to relationships. It was hard to reconcile these two sides of her just so she could get her happily-ever-after. I hope I succeeded.
32 year-old PATRICK ‘PAT’ HUGHES is the first born of four siblings and therefore used to running his and other people’s lives ever. He is a natural leader, charismatic, and responsible. Kenny is definitely not the kind of woman he should be attracted to. She doesn’t listen to him, throws his good intentions back at him, and her life is a mess. But still, he wants her. Why? Ask him.
2: THIS IS A REWRITE
If you’ve been with me since I started publishing, then you remember this book. I started writing the book in 2016 and couldn’t quite muster the energy to finish writing it.
In its first interpretation, it was called ‘Damaged Attraction, and Kenny went by the name Gabi (Marley was Ari and her book was Three’s A Crowd). But obviously, things have changed. The story got more complex and fleshier as I became older (and hopefully more mature). Hopefully, it got better too.
3: yes, cece passed on
You remember Cece, right? In DON’T LET ME BREAK, she was mentioned a lot and even had a scene or two. Cece is the sisters’ paternal grandmother (Gary’s mother). She was a big part of how Gary turned out because she enabled his bad behavior and even excused it.
When Kenny’s mother, Cynthia, went to jail for murdering Gary, Cece took custody of the girls, but she wasn’t a very good guardian. She assumed that Marley’s mental issues were as a result of being possessed and did weird stuff to ‘exorcise’ her. Kenny had to act as a wall between her grandmother and Marley, to keep the older woman from hurting Marley. As soon as Kenny was old enough, she got Marley out of the old woman’s house.
Kenny would’ve been within her rights to never talk to Cece again, but she’s a generous woman. She still took care of the older woman, and even when Cece had to be admitted to a care facility because of dementia, Kenny was the one who paid for it, and visited the elderly woman frequently.
In Kenny’s book, Cece doesn’t appear. Pat only mentions that Kenny took a leave to bury her. So, yes, she’s dead now. The woman was eighty-nine and quite sickly. Honestly, I personally didn’t like the older woman but R.I.P… I guess.
4: KENNY'S FAMILY GROWS
When we started this journey (i.e. the Carter Sisters series), the Carter family was made of three members; Kenny, Marley and Cece. In Book 1, Marley got married and had a baby girl. In Book 2, Cece died, Kenny got married and is pregnant. In future their family continues to grow.
Marley and Sebastian go ahead to have two more kids (all boys) while Kenny and Pat have one more child, a girl. Add that to all the wonderful in-laws that the girls have acquired, and its fair to say that their family is now bigger than they could have ever imagined. For two woman who believed themselves unworthy of love, this is a pretty big accomplishment. It just goes to show, nothing in life is predictable, and no one is unlovable. Sometimes happiness is just a footstep away. Never give up.
5: ALL ABOUT PAT'S FAMILY
Pat’s family was briefly mentioned in the book but not really explored. Pat’s dad, Jackson (after whom Jack’s Group of Clubs is named) died when Pat was just seventeen. Pat’s mom, Helen, raised the kids on her own. Helen is a nurse. Pat has three siblings; Yaya (30) who was a professional ballerina but now owns her own studio and is a successful teacher, Damon (27) who is a chef and owns Aize restaurant, and Chris (22) who is a college student.
The family is pretty close even though we only saw one event where they all appeared together, and Kenny is lucky to have them in her life. I might write stories for Pat’s younger siblings later, but that’s still up in the air.
6: SARA'S RELAPSE IS NOT HER FINAL CHAPTER
Sara, Kenny’s sponsor, was a victim of Nisha’s shenanigans. I know it seems like she was just collateral damage because I didn’t mention her in the epilogue but I’ve really been thinking about her. Anyone who’s ever had an addiction knows how hard it is to stay on the straight and narrow. Sara managed it for twenty-two years and that is incredibly commendable.
However, we have to recognize that falling down is a strong possibility when you’re dealing with issues of addiction. What matters is whether you pick yourself up afterwards, and though it isn’t mentioned, Sara eventually picks herself up again (though she does relapse a few times after).
Sara’s story was my way of making it clear that Kenny’s life isn’t going to be perfect from now on. She’ll always battle her addiction. Every day will be spent reminding herself just how much she gained by quitting and how much she would lose if she fell again. I don’t wish for her to relapse like Sara did, but I’m not ruling it out. Still, this is Kenny. She got this!
7: NISHA IS KIND OF PITIFUL
Barsha (the doctor) gave us a basic run down of how Nisha’s life was before she met Kenny, but I should expound. Nisha is the second daughter of Nepalese immigrants. Compared to her older sister, she was unexceptional. As often happens, her parents paid more attention to the sibling who had the most promise, in this case her sister. What worsened Nisha’s situation was the fact that both her parents worked which meant they had very limited time for their kids. They chose to spend that limited time on Barsha which left Nisha neglected.
This neglect caused Nisha to start acting out. Her extraordinary lies were all attempts to get noticed by her parents or just anyone really. She wanted to be loved too. At first she tried to make herself seem exceptional too; i.e claiming to have visited exotic places, be related to great people, have exceptional skills etc. But at some point she realized that eliciting sympathy by making her life out to be worse than it actually was was also a great way to get love. That’s why she won’t all out on the pity-party when she met Kenny.
If you think about it, her life is sad too. It’s no excuse for how she behaved, but it’s certainly an explanation. Maybe a good therapist can fix her.
LESSON: Raise your kids right, folks.
8: THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN TO LABRINTH’S ‘BENEATH YOUR BEAUTIFUL’
If you haven’t heard this song yet, I don’t know how to help you. What rock are you living under so I can come get you?
This is a beautiful song. Labrinth and Emeli have haunting voices that will stab at your heart, and the song’s lyrics will get you every time. It reminds me of Kenny and how high her walls were before she met Pat. Call me overdramatic, it almost feels like Pat is singing it to her.
Listen to the song again and tell me this ain’t Pat and Kenny.
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