{"product_id":"the-bereaved-a-novel-9781736795422","title":"The Bereaved: A Novel","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBased on her research into her grandfather’s past as an adopted child, Julia Park Tracey has created a mesmerizing work of historical fiction illuminating the darkest side of the Orphan Train.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1859, women have few rights, even to their own children. When her husband dies and her children become wards of a predator, Martha – bereaved and scared – flees their beloved country home taking the children with her to the squalor of New York City. But as a naïve woman alone, preyed on by male employers, she soon finds herself nearly destitute. The Home for the Friendless offers free food, clothing, and schooling to New York’s street kids and Martha secures a place temporarily for her children there. When she returns for them, she discovers that the Society has indentured her two eldest out to work via the Orphan Train, and has placed her two youngest for adoption. The Society refusing to help and with the Civil War erupting around her, Martha sets out to reclaim each of them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“...Tracey does a masterful job in this novel, developing Martha as a relatable narrator; readers will find that their spirits rise and fall with hers. For the most part, her life in the city is almost too wrenching to witness. The most painful aspect of the story, wonderfully handled by Tracey, is its depiction of the casual cruelty of the righteous folk who think they should be thanked as they break families apart. This novel is based on members of the author’s own family; baby Homer became William Lozier Gaston, who’s Tracey’s great-great grandfather.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn often painful but uplifting novel by a writer at the top of her game.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In \u003ci\u003eThe Bereaved\u003c\/i\u003e, Julia Park Tracey reopens America’s wounds in prose that is propulsive and resonant. Martha’s struggles are the stuff of classic literature. Theodore Dreiser comes to mind, but so, too, the fine contemporary novels of Jo Baker and Maggie O’Farrell.” \u003cb\u003e—Christian Kiefer, author of \u003ci\u003ePhantoms\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Julia Park Tracey’s \u003ci\u003eThe Bereaved\u003c\/i\u003e is more than the gripping story of a young widow facing desperate choices as she tries to keep her family together. It’s also a study of the rough and unsentimental New York City just before the Civil War, when working mothers had few options and “orphan trains” were relocating city children thousands of miles from their families. Based on the lives of Tracey’s ancestors, The Bereaved is a deeply researched historical narrative as well as a compelling read.\" \u003cb\u003e—Esther Crain, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Gilded Age in New York\u003c\/i\u003e and curator of Ephemeral New York (www.ephemeralnewyork.com)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Julia Park Tracey’s \u003ci\u003eThe Bereaved\u003c\/i\u003e is a novel that weaves its intimately detailed characters into your soul. At once, heartbreaking, heartwarming, and absolutely beautiful, this is a story that captures the devastation of loss and the power of enduring hope.” \u003cb\u003e—Lauren Hough, author of \u003ci\u003eLeaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What happens when a mother is left with no choices? In \u003ci\u003eThe Bereaved\u003c\/i\u003e, Julia Park Tracey casts a stark light on an era in which hard work and devotion simply aren’t enough for women trapped in poverty. Vivid, haunting, authentic, and utterly gripping, it’s a beautifully written story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.” \u003cb\u003e—Ellen Meister, author of \u003ci\u003eFarewell, Dorothy Parker\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDorothy Parker Drank Here\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This sumptuous, cinematic book is full of heart and concern for women’s plights in this era and gets to the bottom of the Orphan Train tragedy in a way that seems just as compelling and heartless as from the children’s perspective.” \u003cb\u003e—Erika Mailman, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Witch’s Trinity\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Bereaved\u003c\/i\u003e, a beautifully researched novel by journalist\/historian Julia Park Tracey, portrays a courageous woman who suffers similar heart-rending losses to the author’s own. Based also on the struggles her third great-grandmother faced in the American Northeast during the Civil War era, Tracey’s story is gritty, truthful, inspiring, and compassionate. Simply unique.” \u003cb\u003e—Rebecca Lawton, author of \u003ci\u003eSwimming Grand Canyon and Other Poems\u003c\/i\u003e (2021) and \u003ci\u003eWhat I Never Told You: Stories\u003c\/i\u003e (2022)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Impeccable, poetic writing. The care, respect, and fierce love for her ancestors is evident throughout \u003ci\u003eThe Bereaved\u003c\/i\u003e.” \u003cb\u003e—Eleanor Parker Sapia, \u003ci\u003eA Decent Woman\u003c\/i\u003e, 2021 International Latino Book Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Julia Park Tracey’s work of historical fiction, \u003ci\u003eThe Bereaved\u003c\/i\u003e, is based on the life of her third great-grandmother. Tracey’s meticulous research reveals Martha’s struggles to keep her young family together in such vivid detail that the reader shares her very real fears, her mounting disappointments, and finally, her heart-breaking decisions.” \u003cb\u003e—Nancy Herman, author of \u003ci\u003eAll We Left Behind: Virginia Reed and the Donner Party\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sibylline Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48887537107287,"sku":"9781736795422","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-bereaved-a-novel-9781736795422","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}