Silent Night

Paige Watts grew up in Hollywood royalty and never lost her taste for the spotlight. Her own acting ambitions now drive the career of her daughter, Emma, who at nine has a central role on a hit television series. Then an unforeseen tragedy upends the family and leaves Emma's life in pieces.

Emma goes to live with her aunt Whitney, Paige's older sister. The two women took opposite roads. Whitney was the bookish one, put off by the cult of celebrity that surrounded their childhood, and she grew up to be a psychiatrist devoted to her work. Her private life is just as uncomplicated, built around a relationship with a wealthy venture capitalist that asks nothing of either of them. When her niece needs her, Whitney sets all of it aside without hesitation.

The girl who arrives is not the confident, outgoing child the cameras loved. Emma has lost her speech and her memories, and she is frightened and adrift. With Whitney beside her, and with help from doctors and caregivers, she slowly begins to build a life from the beginning again. Her recovery also changes the people around her, Whitney most of all.

Silent Night is a story about resilience, family and the quiet ways people heal one another. Danielle Steel suggests that hope can turn up in the moments when everything seems lost.