Singing Bird - Softcover

Roisin McAuley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0755308549 ISBN 13: 9780755308545

Publisher: Headline Book Publishing, 2005

Synopsis

Twenty-seven years after she adopted her baby in Ireland, Lena Molloy receives a call from the nun who set up the adoption. Sister Monica claims that she wants merely to tie up loose ends in her old age, but Lena becomes frightened that something more threatening lies behind the call, and she sets off on a journey to Ireland, with her best friend, to find her daughter's birth parents - little knowing the extraordinary truths which she will uncover.

About this title

About the Author

Roisin McAuley grew up in a big family in a small town in County Tyrone in the 1950s, went to a convent boarding school, and then to Queen's University, Belfast, to study history. She joined the BBC in Northern Ireland as a newsreader and announcer, going on to become a reporter for BBC programmes such as Spotlight, Newsnight, Panorama and File on 4. She has also produced and directed television documentaries for ITV and Channel 4 and written and presented programmes on BBC Radio 3 and 4. She lives in Reading with her husband, Richard.

From Publishers Weekly

A woman's search for her adopted daughter's birth mother leads to dramatic discoveries in McAuley's poised debut. An adopted child herself, Lena Malloy wondered about her own birth mother, but never learned who she was. A surprise check-in phone call from Sister Monica, "the nun who gave me Mary," leads Lena to wonder about Mary's biological parents—and about why the nun has called from Ireland after almost 30 years of silence. Lena's husband, Jack, discourages her curiosity, but Lena believes that Mary, a rising opera singer, will someday want to know the provenance of her magnificent voice. "You have no idea what it feels like not to know your origins. It has nothing to do with ingratitude, or selfishness," Lena thinks. "This is about feeling complete." With her best friend, Alma, Lena sets out for Dublin to see Mary in concert and do a little sleuthing. She faces off with a sour Sister Monica, finds an ally in a woman from the Natural Parents' Internetwork office and travels great distances to meet potential biological mothers. As Lena, a Catholic, works her way toward the truth, she's also forced to compromise her morals, and the secret she uncovers nearly destroys her family. McAuley deftly captures Lena's unwavering drive while building suspense, though coincidences and surprises—including the one about Mary's biological father—may strain credibility.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0755308549
• ISBN 13: 9780755308545
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384