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Westerly: A Novel
Not yet published
Expected 1 Jun 26In an unforgettable saga of survival, motherhood, sisterhood, and the secrets that haunt us, one desperate decision creates a fault line that spans decades and threatens to break a family wide open.
In 1946, two German sisters, child refugees in a program dubbed Operation Shamrock, arrive in Ireland to live in foster care while Europe recovers from war. Nearly fifty years later, on a fateful day in a bustling Maine farmhouse, an Irish newspaper clipping threatens to unravel Faye Sullivan’s carefully constructed life with husband William and daughters Maeve and Molly, a life already on the brink of collapse.
When tragedy strikes and the Sullivans grapple with a cascade of buried secrets, Faye must confront the truth of a childhood summer in West Cork marked by adventure, heartbreak, and a life-altering decision that now jeopardizes everything she holds dear. And while their bonds may not be what they seemed, those bonds might be the one thing strong enough to help the broken Sullivan family navigate the truth and find their way forward together.
From Germany to Ireland to coastal Maine, this tender family saga explores identity, reconciliation, and the true meaning of home.
In 1946, two German sisters, child refugees in a program dubbed Operation Shamrock, arrive in Ireland to live in foster care while Europe recovers from war. Nearly fifty years later, on a fateful day in a bustling Maine farmhouse, an Irish newspaper clipping threatens to unravel Faye Sullivan’s carefully constructed life with husband William and daughters Maeve and Molly, a life already on the brink of collapse.
When tragedy strikes and the Sullivans grapple with a cascade of buried secrets, Faye must confront the truth of a childhood summer in West Cork marked by adventure, heartbreak, and a life-altering decision that now jeopardizes everything she holds dear. And while their bonds may not be what they seemed, those bonds might be the one thing strong enough to help the broken Sullivan family navigate the truth and find their way forward together.
From Germany to Ireland to coastal Maine, this tender family saga explores identity, reconciliation, and the true meaning of home.
395 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Devoured this book! Westerly is a moving portrait of how a young girl’s lie multiplies through time. Mother to daughter, secrets lead to more secrets in a spiraling cascade. In Donovan Bernhard's hands, everything unravels in magnificent fashion. Each family member is forced to question who they are—and find the courage to become their true selves. Written in luminous prose, this novel will stay with me for a long time. I loved this author's first novel, Winter Loon, and Westerly no less.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I loved Susan Donovan Bernhard’s debut novel, Winter Loon, because of its rich characterization and flawless prose. When I learned she has a new book coming out, I was thrilled.
As in Winter Loon, in Westerly Bernhard writes of family secrets. She also uses a Hansel-and-Gretel trail of crumbs, including character nicknames like “Faye” and “Pixie” to pull in a sense of Irish fairy tales to reinforce a theme of changelings and another world beneath the real one. This is similar to her recurrent use of the winter loon, weather, nature, and Native American myths to reflect and contrast with her characters in Winter Loon.
In Westerly, two German sisters are taken from an orphanage in Germany during World War II and given to an Irish family to foster. A tragedy pulls the sisters apart and begins long-running secrets that the two hide for fifty years. Knowing the secret and what it might do to their families, the reader waits for that secret shoe to drop. Though plenty of shoes drop, when the secret is finally revealed, it’s not quite when or how the reader would have predicted. The secrets keep mothers from truly loving their children and thus affect generations beyond their own. One of the best things about Westerly is the positive image of the father and grandfather who are able to give their daughters and granddaughters love that their female role models can’t quite muster.
Overall, a truly lovely book, well worth reading.
As in Winter Loon, in Westerly Bernhard writes of family secrets. She also uses a Hansel-and-Gretel trail of crumbs, including character nicknames like “Faye” and “Pixie” to pull in a sense of Irish fairy tales to reinforce a theme of changelings and another world beneath the real one. This is similar to her recurrent use of the winter loon, weather, nature, and Native American myths to reflect and contrast with her characters in Winter Loon.
In Westerly, two German sisters are taken from an orphanage in Germany during World War II and given to an Irish family to foster. A tragedy pulls the sisters apart and begins long-running secrets that the two hide for fifty years. Knowing the secret and what it might do to their families, the reader waits for that secret shoe to drop. Though plenty of shoes drop, when the secret is finally revealed, it’s not quite when or how the reader would have predicted. The secrets keep mothers from truly loving their children and thus affect generations beyond their own. One of the best things about Westerly is the positive image of the father and grandfather who are able to give their daughters and granddaughters love that their female role models can’t quite muster.
Overall, a truly lovely book, well worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews