Trouble the Living

From Northern Ireland to Southern California and backa mother and daughter confront the violence of the past in an enthralling novel about the possibility of love and redemption during the most transforming and unsettled times. Its the final years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and Brd and her sister, Ina, try to maintain a stable life in a divided country. Pushed by her mothers fanaticism and a family tragedy, Brd joins the IRA and makes a devastating choice. Frightened and guilt ridden, she flees, leaving behind Ireland and her family for America. Years later, her guilt and tragic history still buried, Brd is an overprotective mother raising her sensitive daughter, Bernie, in Southern California. Growing up amid a different kind of social unrest, Bernies need for independence and her exploration of her sexuality drive a wedge into their already-fragile relationship. When mother and daughter are forced to return to Northern Ireland, they both must confront the past, the present, and the women theyve become. As they navigate their troubled legacies, mother and daughter untangle the threads of love, violence, and secrets that formed themand that will stubbornly, beautifully, bind them forever.