About the Book

Raging storms at sea pale in comparison to the challenges Percy Kilkenny, a once tall ship sailor,must face when, as an aging patriarch, he is placed in a nursing-care home. "Drown me in the salt-chuck first before you put me in a place like that," he had warned his wife, Clara. However, this critical incident serves to spark a journey of redemption for the authoritarian commander of the Kilkenny household.

When a tragic accident claims the life of a teenager, Percy is painfully reminded of what happened to his own two children. The event propels him to examine fractured family relationships and to acknowledge his part in the alienation of the Kilkenny children. The one exception is Joe, his last born, who is a commercial fisherman on the west coast and who shares common ground with his father; a genuine love of the sea. Together with Clara, Joe supports his father´s wrestle with the ghosts of his past, especially those of his childhood which drove him to escape to seafaring, with all its perils, at the tender age of thirteen.

Meanwhile, during this home visit Joe is confronted with difficulties of his own. Still in love with his high school sweetheart, he is not deterred in his quest to win her back despite the fact that she has mysteriously married a scoundrel.

The real town of Dalhousie, New Brunswick stands as the setting. Colourful sea-going yarns coupled with the region’s bilingual flavour and rich cultural makeup, serve as a backdrop for this story, one concerned with healing the heart,and unveiling the soul.

About the Author

Patricia Donahue was born in New Brunswick into a large bilingual family of storytellers. After studying to become a Registered Nurse at St. Mary´s Hospital in Montreal, she traded one seacoast for another when she moved to Vancouver. There she took her bachelors and masters degrees at the University of British Columbia, and raised her three children. Her first publications were in international academic journals in psychology. Later, when she turned to fiction writing, her short stories appeared in anthologies and magazines. She has taught psychology and writing at universities for over ten years while running a private practice as a psychotherapist for twice that stretch of time. Visiting seaports, maritime museums and the experience of being a trainee on the tall ship, Bark Europa, crossing the North Atlantic for the Acadian Sail 2004, formed part of her research for this novel. She is a member of the BC Federation of Writers, The North Shore Writers, an associate of The Canadian Authors Association, and a founding member of the Okanagan Writers League. Currently, she lives in the beautiful Okanagan Valley and is a writing instructor at UBC Okanagan Continuing Studies Department.