Sing, Wild Bird, Sing - by Jacqueline O'Mahony (Paperback)

About the Book

"It's 1849 on the west coast of Ireland. Resilient Honora O'Donoghue is accustomed to fending for herself and to reading the language of the natural world. It was always said she'd been marked for something different, but it's not until she suffers devastating losses in a country gripped by the Famine that Honora begins to understand how that difference will save her. With the hope of a better life in America calling, Honora keeps moving toward her freedom."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

A courageous woman journeys from nineteenth-century Ireland to the American West in a powerful novel about the indomitable will to survive--and to flourish--against nearly impossible odds.

It's 1849 on the west coast of Ireland. Resilient Honora O'Donoghue is accustomed to fending for herself and to reading the language of the natural world. It was always said she'd been marked for something different, but it's not until she suffers devastating losses in a country gripped by the Famine that Honora begins to understand how that difference will save her. With the hope of a better life in America calling, Honora keeps moving toward her freedom.

Across the Atlantic, she's unfamiliar with the customs, jobs are scarce, and she has no money. She finds only one new friend, and Honora's desperation is a state to be taken advantage of. Even the prospect of marriage is not without its conditions--and far from the dream she imagines. With so much disappointment and heartbreak in her past, Honora must decide what kind of life she wants, and what she's prepared to do to get it.

Review Quotes

"Jacqueline O'Mahony's work is fiction, though she describes historical events with the unswerving eye of a journalist... [She] conveniently, yet thoughtfully, adds characters and spiritual elements as needed.... Sing, Wild Bird, Sing is a novel about the will to persevere in the face of unspeakable grief." --Booklist

"The story is breathtaking in its scope. Life in Doolough is horrifying, but Honora's will to survive is magnificent...I would read more from Jacqueline O'Mahony any time." --Historical Novels Review

"Almost painful in its authenticity, this breathtaking and poignant novel is an immersion in the harsh realities of nineteenth-century Ireland and America. Jacqueline O'Mahony is a formidable writer, whose voice is fearless, evocative, and uplifting. Skillfully laced with imagery, Honora's mesmerizing story of courage, survival, and striving to be free will stay in your heart long after you close the book. Brilliant and haunting." --Elena Gorokhova, author of A Train to Moscow

"I absolutely love Sing, Wild Bird, Sing. I can entirely relate to it. I've had lots of Irish people tell me how the Irish and Indigenous people of America have so much in common. And we really do, but unfortunately, I never heard their stories. Sing, Wild Bird, Sing links our worlds together so beautifully. Like Honora, I have always moved through what seems like a never-ending series of disappointments, existed between two worlds, and never stopped moving toward a more fitting world. This book really moved me. It's been a privilege to read." --Anthony Two Moons

"Unforgettable. The wonderful Honora and the struggles of her people in Ireland and America will carve a special place in your heart." --Daisy Wood, author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris

"A work of page-turning intensity, O'Mahony's prose blazes with life and insight." --Julie Myerson, author of Nonfiction: A Novel