A Far-Flung Life

In 1958 WA (Western Australia) the MacBride family runs a substantial sheep station. Over a million acres in a very remote location, the MacBride’s are one of the top wool producers in the area. It is a hard and isolated life. When tragedy strikes, Lorna MacBride is left with her distraught daughter Rose and Mattie, who may or may not survive the accident. She must snap back quickly and continue to manage the many hands who run and work the station or their family will be ruined. Set in this vast, baron land there are a few quirky characters Lorna can rely on. One is Pete Peachy, their roo shooter, a former war hero who keeps to himself but lives on the outskirts of the property protecting the family at all times. Pete feels a particular responsibility to help Matt recuperate and Rosie remain hopeful. As the author describes what it takes to survive this harsh wilderness and way of life we are brought deep into a family drama filled with layers of buried secrets, guilt and decades of regret. Oh, how I have been waiting since 2012 for this book! The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman was one of my favorites (and movie of same name 2016). Unfortunately even though the writing is exquisite, this novel that releases March 3, felt painfully slow I found myself waiting for it to be over. It wasn’t bad, I was just waiting to be drawn in emotionally and it it never happened. ⭐⭐⭐

 

Saoirse

When Sarah Roy was a teenager, she knew she had to escape. Years of abuse by her addict mother’s boyfriend and protecting her younger sister, Lea, left her with no other choice. Now her mother is dead and Sarah must get out. After arranging Lea’s safety with relatives, she disappears. From the moment the plane takes off, Sarah can hardly breathe. Changing Roy to Walsh was easy when she swiped an unsuspecting nanny’s passport. She will start a new life and leave these very bad people behind. On the plane, her seat mate, Paul, is a little annoying—but Sarah doesn’t have a lot of options. She accepts his offer of a place to stay, and even though his mother and sister are extremely hesitant, his father, Dr. Joe, welcomes Sarah with open arms. As she reinvents herself—as Saoirse—Paul becomes controlling and manipulative. Once again, she is trapped. Years later Saoirse falls in love with a beautiful man named Daithi (pronounced Dah-Hee) who finally takes her away to live by the sea in Donegal. She expresses herself through art and begins to feels a tinge of the happy life she has always dreamed of. Unfortunately, Saoirse’s happiness is short lived as the unbreakable ties with Paul’s family keep her secrets dangling above, the dangerous truth always lurking. Family, freedom, art, and love fill this beautiful story with heartbreaking hope and fast-paced suspense—you won’t be able to turn the pages quickly enough. Pour a cup of tea, wear something green, and lose yourself in an Irish story that hits the heart. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Strangers

In the beginning of 2020 the Burden family, like most others in New York were isolating. They retreated from the city to their summer home in Martha’s Vineyard. It was cold in March and Belle how no idea how long they would stay. The pandemic was terrifying on its own, she never dreamed her life would be unrecognizable in just a few months time. One day her husband of twenty years, James, told her he was leaving. He was done, and there was no convincing him otherwise. He packed a small bag and left her with their teenage children. Belle, an educated, independent and sophisticated woman was no stranger to divorce, it had after all consumed her childhood. But this was crazy. She loved James and he loved her, she was sure of it. What had changed? While Belle figured out how to move forward and protect her children she also realized she had slowly over the years lost control of her finances and all decision making had become too easy to leave to James. Belle had to learn how to take control. This memoir is a very intimate detailed telling of a relationship that was destroyed. Surrounded by a close knit group of friends and a few family members, Belle puts on foot in front of the other. All the money in the world cannot buy happiness and it certainly cannot buy trust and honesty. Both beautifully written and heartbreaking, I am glad Belle found her long lost writing voice and look forward to reading more of her work. ⭐⭐⭐⭐