Showing results by narrator "Mary Behan" in All Categories

Two sisters give a hilarious and poignant account of boarding school life in Ireland in the 1960s. Mary and Valerie Behan were 11 years of age when they were sent to Loreto Abbey Rathfarnham, a convent on the outskirts of Dublin. The Abbey was the Mother House of the Loreto Order of nuns who had established convents throughout the world. Now in their 60s and living in the United States and Canada, Mary and Valerie began a correspondence about their six years at the Abbey.

Looking back on her life, Maggie O'Connor is rightfully pleased. Fifty years ago, she left Ireland with a single suitcase and a dream. After a long and satisfying career, she is enjoying retirement on her farm in rural Wisconsin - until she falls. Determined to regain her independence, she hires Isobel, a young woman who is also an emigrant.

Isobel has always yearned to uncover the mystery surrounding her birth and why her adoptive parents have refused to share what they know with her. About to enter vet school, Isobel’s life takes an unexpected turn after the death of Maggie O’Connor, Isobel’s de facto grandmother. Fueled by an ache to belong, and willing to sacrifice her college plans and a burgeoning relationship, Isobel embarks on a quest.