The Daughters: A Novel

Renowned—albeit washed-up—author Peter Zemeckis (“Z”) is relishing the sunset of a life spent single when Dr. Nancy Chu crash-lands in the bungalow next door. As Nancy’s family drags him into deeper water, Z must rethink the ending to his own story.

Spanning from Amarillo, Texas, in 1977 to La Jolla, California, in 2012, The Daughters is a kaleidoscopic meditation on family, memory, and the invisible forces that bind us. Z’s narrative interweaves small-town rodeos with amateur radios, teen angst with parental love. Shard by shard, he pieces together the story of a fractured family struggling to reassemble itself.

Like particles, Z’s characters (and neighbors) are both small and singular, but their stories ripple like waves—colliding, refracting, and reshaping one another across generations. Elegant, intricate, and deeply moving, The Daughters reverberates long after its final page is turned.

“What a find Ben Rogers is...a sharp writer who has built a beautiful novel. I can’t recommend this one enough."
–Willy Vlautin, author of The Horse, recipient of the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize

“A richly textured vision...An authentic and poignant depiction of the complex, contradictory relationships among family members.”
–Kirkus Reviews

“Carefully weaving emotion into ritual, Rogers shows exceptional command of his skill. Its complex, layered, and messy characters feel immediately intimate and real.”
–IndieReader