LIVES APART by Anne M. McLoughlin

‘LIVES APART’ by Anne M. McLoughlin

A tale of emigration from Ireland to America after the famine. A family saga of betrayal, tragedy and survival.

Although a work of fiction, the inspiration for ‘LIVES APART’, came from having researched her own family tree. 

LIVES APART tells the story of young Johanna McNamara, who, in 1877 leaves her quiet life on the family farm in County Clare and emigrates to America to join her successful businessman brother Hugh.  Full of hope, she is determined to make a success of her life. However, tragedy strikes before she finds her feet in this new world, and she must put the care of others before her own needs.

Back in Ireland, farming life for the family continues through the seasons, with her brother Art struggling to deal with his troubled son Declan.  Sending him to the USA is an option that might help turn him into a man.  But little does Johanna know what lies ahead with the arrival of a nephew, whose act of betrayal will blow her life apart.

Set in Ireland, Boston, San Francisco and Nova Scotia ‘Lives Apart’ explores sibling relationships and how a disastrous action can reverberate through the lives of the extended family.  It also looks at the experience of emigration, both for those who had the courage to venture across the Atlantic and those they left behind.

‘LIVES APART’ by Anne McLoughlin is her debut novel and the first in the ‘Lives’ trilogy,

published by Poolbeg Press and available as an eBook or Paperback from Amazon.

‘LIVES WITHOUT END’ the second book in the trilogy is due for publication in May.

AMAZON REVIEWS for ‘LIVES APART’:

“History sits gently and characters lead with McLoughlin, sensitive to the human condition as she follows the lives of the McNamara family in Ireland and America.”

“The descriptions of nature and scenery are truly poetic.”

“… a real page turner. It allowed me reflect on emigration in a way I hadn't appreciated before.”