Daughters of Ireland

After the deaths of her mother and infant sister during Ireland's Great Famine, thirteen-year-old Mary Boland makes her way to the Queenstown harbor and onto a coffin ship bound for America. But what happens during her transatlantic passage is enough to quash the strongest of dreams. After being assaulted by crewmembers, Mary thinks of ending her life-until a young Black slave named Kamua comes to her rescue . . . Forming a bond as strong as siblings, Mary and Kam reach Boston, determined to forge their own paths. No longer an innocent soul, Mary trusts no one, putting her faith in her own instincts. It is on the teeming streets of South Boston that she'll find a new home and a new purpose as a midwife, helping poverty-stricken women survive their pregnancies. And it is in this city, full of possibility, where Mary's heart will heal, and find the strength to survive the harsh choices she is forced to make, and grow into a woman true to herself . . . Contains mature themes.

The daughter of Irish immigrants and the son of an African slave forge their own destiny in Boston, in this compelling sequel to Shanty Gold. Boston, 1870. Nellie's mom and Neo's father met on a coffin ship sailing from Ireland to America, a journey they barely survived. Having heard this tale since childhood, the two teenagers now crave an adventure of their own. When an unfounded rumor gets Nellie suspended from school and puts her future in jeopardy, the lifelong friends flee to New York City to join a circus. And though their escapade is short-lived, it teaches both of them about courage, kindness, and acceptance. Rising above her scandalous background, Nellie inches toward her dream of becoming a teacher, while Neo battles against prejudice and hatred to marry the woman he loves. As they struggle with the hopes and expectations laid upon them by their parents, they'll navigate through tragedy and betrayal on a journey towards their hearts' true desires. Contains mature themes.

Three generations of Irish American women seek better lives in Boston, in this historical saga of hope, hardship, and love by the author of “Lace Curtain”. Mary Boland suffered aboard a coffin ship to escape famine and make her way to America. Her daughter, Nellie, was born in South Boston-a beautiful girl, smart enough to graduate from college when few women, let alone women of her background, could. But her glowing future as a teacher is ruined when she becomes pregnant-and she is forced to cope on her own as the baby's father disappears after returning to Ireland to fight for his nation's liberation. Her subsequent rushed marriage to an ambitious politician will throw Nellie's life far off course-and reverberate in her mother's and daughter's lives as well. Nothing will ever be the same in this gripping conclusion to the “Daughters of Ireland” saga-a tale of poverty and wealth, opportunity and danger, and family and forbidden love set against the tumultuous backdrop of the late nineteenth-century Gilded Age. Contains mature themes.