Things We Do For Love - Synopsis
Genre
Length
Comps
Novel – Women’s Fiction
74,000 words
Elizabeth is Missing and A Spool of Blue Thread
Logline
UK. The present. When an ageing therapist gets desperate for a child, her overbearing mother develops Alzheimer’s. She must decide between her wish for a child or caring for her increasingly helpless mother, whose tyranny drove the family apart.
THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE looks at what a happy family means. It’s about breaking the myth that all happy families are the same. It re-examines our beliefs about motherhood, old age and the importance of forgiveness in order to live successfully.
Therapist DAISY BACH swore she would never have children due to her fear of turning out like her own overbearing mother, VERITY, whom she hates. However, at the age of 45 she decides to give parenthood a chance just as her mother is diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s.
On the eve of her father, SOL’s 80th birthday she shares this news with her estranged sisters, IRIS & HEATHER. During the celebrations, Sol has a stroke, which leaves him paralyzed.
Daisy grudgingly takes care of her parents, due to her inflated sense of duty. Heather agrees to move back home, out of loyalty towards Daisy, who has been her protector all the years while growing up. Iris, who lives in Spain, was always considered the head of the family. Now she is suddenly left out of the picture and must learn how to let go of her control over family affairs.
Verity and Sol’s health issues dominate Daisy’s life. She has to let go of her successful psychotherapy practice if she wants to get pregnant, as the stress of everything is holding her back. Daisy’s hate towards Verity deepens. Iris confronts Daisy, saying she needs to forgive Verity before she becomes a mother herself. Heather is outraged when she hears this and challenges Iris on her hypocrisy: She values a happy family but hides in an off-the-grid farm in Spain.
When Sol dies, Daisy is faced with the reality of Verity’s deterioration. She loses her child to stillbirth but realizes Iris was right. Forgiveness is necessary for them all to go on. The mother/daughter roles are reversed and finally Daisy can show love for Verity.
When Verity dies Daisy decides to become a mother in her own unique way through adoption.
