Book Synopsis

In 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.

Review Quotes

"Powerful and immersive, Westerly is an extraordinary novel about the secrets we carry, the burdens they cause, and the redeeming power of love. As Faye and her daughters make choices that are complicated and have profound consequences, Bernhard reveals with stunning prose why we strive to endure, to change, and ultimately to heal. An utterly beautiful achievement." --Marjan Kamali, New York Times bestselling author of The Lion Women of Tehran

"What if the secrets that kept us safe also kept us apart? In this luminous novel, Susan Bernhard traces the echoes of an unspoken trauma from the wild Irish coast to a secluded inlet in Maine, where three generations of women strive to build new lives among old silences. Westerly is a portrait of family in all its fragility and grace--a story that will break your heart, then leave it wiser." --Janet Rich Edwards, author of Canticle

"Westerly is a sweeping portrait of how one woman's lie multiplies through time. Mother to daughter, secrets beget secrets in a spiraling cascade destined to unravel. Each family member must question who they are--and find the courage to become their true selves. Written in Bernhard's luminous prose, Westerly will live in your heart long after the final page." --Tess Callahan, author of Dawnland and April & Oliver

"A sweeping novel carrying the reader from one edge of the Atlantic to the other, from one generation to the next, at an extraordinary time in world history--alive with all the secrets, beautiful landscape, and depth of character a reader could want." --Ben Shattuck, author of The History of Sound

"Spanning three generations, from the windswept shores of Ireland to the craggy coastline of Maine, Bernhard weaves an unforgettable tale of identity, loss, and love. Featuring an indelible sisterhood of characters, Westerly is about what we avoid and what we run toward in our quest to discover who we really are. A masterwork of storytelling. I loved every page." --Katherine A. Sherbrooke, author of Leaving Coy's Hill and The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly

"In a story packed with as much secrecy as love, Westerly follows two generations of women as they move from war-torn Germany to an Irish village to mid-coast Maine across five decades. But the larger journey is one of learning to share our lives--our past and present truths--with those who are supposed to know us best, and trusting that they will still love us. An absolutely beautiful story of choosing honesty and forgiveness over secrets and shame." --Heather Aimee O'Neill