Who's the Favorite?

“A moving, searching, deeply researched exploration of relationships so fundamental we sometimes stop noticing them altogether. Whether you’re a sibling or an only child, Who’s the Favorite? will leave you wiser and feeling more at home in the world.” - Oliver Burkeman, New York Times bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

“I grew up in a family of four daughters. My sisters formed who I am as much as my parents did. My love for them, my challenges with them, and my commitment to them is as strong and enduring as my relationships with my husband, my children, my friends, and colleagues. I’ve always wondered why there aren’t more books that shed light, guidance, and wisdom on the relationship between siblings. Well, now there is! Catherine Carr’s deep research and fascinating storytelling maps all the aspects of being a sister or brother, including birth order, roles, estrangement, loss, and friendship over the long haul.” - Elizabeth Lesser, bestselling author of Broken Open, Cassandra Speaks, and Marrow

“Sibling relationships are one of the great unexplored human subjects. Catherine Carr writes about them with warmth, insight and intelligence, exploring everything from the funny private languages siblings share to the deep sadness of estrangement between brothers or sisters. Whether you are older, younger or middle, step or only, you will find pieces of yourself in this loving and informative book.” - Bee Wilson, author of The Heart-Shaped Tin: Love, Loss, and Kitchen Objects

“Relatively podcaster Carr mixes research, cultural criticism, and personal anecdotes for this informative debut study of the complexities of sibling relationships… Carr keeps the pace brisk by leavening research-heavy passages with chatty, vivid anecdotes–both her own and those gleaned from her podcast. The result is a thought-provoking, expansive look at an important but understudied familial bond.” - Publishers Weekly

Catherine Carr is the middle of three sisters, and some say she started a podcast about siblings to finally get some attention. She has always been fascinated with people’s stories, spending a large chunk of her career producing BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and You and Yours. She has made many documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service and has won awards in London, New York, and Ireland for her work. She has created and produced several successful podcasts, including Talking Politics and Relatively, which ran from 2020-2023. She lives in Cambridge, England.