Kernels: stories

by Mary Behan

"The stories are really gripping.  So intense and so satisfying.  I loved them — I found myself deeply moved."From Ireland, Iowa, New Orleans, Dublin, New York and beyond, the short stories in this collection explore a wide range of secrets in the past, challenged sexual identity, losing one's faith, getting old, unsatisfactory answers to questions, advice to your younger self, the power of a Native American artifact, hazards for women in research, a woman pilot trying to join the "boys club," love is not all it appears to be.

158 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2021

About the author

MARY BEHAN was formerly a professor of neuroscience. Now retired, she devotes her time to writing fiction, memoir and short stories. Her first book, Abbey Girls, is a memoir she wrote with her sister, Valerie Behan, about their childhood in Ireland. Her debut novel, A Measured Thread, set in Wisconsin and Ireland, was named a Top 100 Indie Book in 2020, a finalist in the Page Turner Awards, and an eLit medal winner. Kernels, a collection of short stories, was published in 2021. Her stories have been published in the Irish literary journal, Crossways, and received Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. Mary lives with her husband in the Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Andrea Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every single story in this book. They are all so diverse and capturing. So many different settings and yet each fascinating in its own way. And, I loved the writing style. I read all the other books by this author and loved them. Check out Abbey Girls, a wonderful letter exchange (non-fiction) between 2 sisters in Ireland displaying different views about their upbringing and abbey life. A Measured Thread is a powerful story exploring the consequences of choices at the last stage of life.

[Madhusree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a neat collection of diverse stories which I've been reading every night. These are great little stories about people & incidents in Wisconsin & beyond. Each one of them is a good story well told.

A couple of the stories take us behind a life in science. If you like reading short stories, you should read this.

*As a one time reader of her work, Mary sent me her book. My review is my own opinion.

[Jane Cairns]

I enjoyed all of the stories in Kernels: Stories. These stories shone a light on different lives and circumstances. Behan’s prose provides the right touch to illuminate her characters and their background. Very well done.