Synopsis:

Orphaned during the Second World War, Aelish and Isabel McGuire—known as the twins of Belfast—are given over to the austere care of the Sisters of Bethlehem. Though they are each all the other has, the girls are propelled in opposite directions as they grow up. Rebellious Isabel turns her back on the church and Ireland, traveling to Newfoundland where she pursues a perilous yet independent life. Devout Aelish chooses to remain in Northern Ireland and takes the veil, burying painful truths beneath years of silence.

For decades the two are separated, each unaware of the other’s life. But after years of isolation Aelish is unexpectedly summoned to Newfoundland, where she and her estranged sister begin to bridge the chasm between them.

Reunion brings to light the painful secrets and seismic deceptions that have kept these sisters apart, leaving the McGuire twins to begin reconstructing their understanding about themselves as women and as family–what they know of love, hope, and above all, forgiveness.

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What To Expect:

Readers can expect a heartbreaking, heavy story of sisters, Catholicism, teenage pregnancy, and mother-baby homes. This historical fiction has multiple POVs and jumps to different times to discover truth and shed light on the time period in Ireland.

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Content Warnings:

Language: Moderate

Sexual Content: Closed Door

Violence: Moderate

Substance Use: Moderate

Prejudices: Moderate – Teenage pregnancy, “non-catholic sinners”

Religious Themes: Catholicism and God seen in some positive but mostly negative ways, church abuse and mistreatment is a major part of the story

Other Topics: Moderate – Miscarriage, teenage pregnancy + shaming, orphans, physical abuse, child neglect and infant death

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