About this item
A debut novel about the passionate loves and tragic losses of six generations of women in a family of firefighters, spanning from famine-era Ireland to Brooklyn a decade after 9/11 "There isn't anything in the world that hurts like a burn." No one knows the pain of a fire more than the women of the Keegan/O'Reilly clan. Kathleen Donohoe's stunning debut novel brings to life seven unsentimental, wry, and evocative portraits of women from a family of firefighters. When we meet Norah - the first member of her family to move from Ireland to New York - she is a mother of three, contemplating her husband's casket as his men give him a full fireman's funeral, and faced with a terrible choice. Norah's mother-in-law, Delia, is stoic and self-preserving. Her early losses have made her keep her children close and her secrets closer. Eileen, Delia's daughter, adopted from Ireland and tough-as-nails, yet desperate for a sense of belonging, is one of the first women firefighters in New York. It is through her eyes that we experience 9/11, blindsided by the events of that terrible day along with her. Poignant, wise, and immersive, Ashes of Fiery Weather is a tour de force in the tradition of Let the Great World Spin, one that explores the emotional wounds and ultimate resilience of those drawn to fire, as well as the many ways we search for each other, and the many ways we hope to be rescued.
About the Author
Kathleen Donohoe is the author of the novels Ghosts of the Missing (February 2020, Mariner Books) and Ashes of Fiery Weather (August 2016, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) which was named one of Book Riot's 100 Must-Read New York City Novels."Ghosts of the Missing is greater than the sum of its parts, though that sum is impressive. It is, above all else, an intelligent, evocative tale of grief and loss."-Washington Independent Review of Books"An evocative mystery...and a well-crafted novel."- Publisher's Weekly, on Ghosts of the MissingDonohoe's stories and essays have appeared in The Recorder: The Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, Web Conjunctions, Washington Square Review, Irish America Magazine. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York and lives there now with her husband and son.http://kathleendonohoe.nyc/https://www.instagram.com/kathleenmdonohoe/
