The last thing eighteen-year-old Wilhelmina “Willa” MacCarthy wants is to be a nun. It’s 1936, and as the only daughter amongst four sons, her Irish-Catholic family is counting on her to take her vows–but Willa’s found another calling. Each day she sneaks away to help Doctor Katherine Winston in her medical clinic in San Francisco’s Richmond District. Keeping secrets from her family only becomes … becomes more complicated when Willa agrees to help the doctor at a field hospital near the new bridge being built over the Golden Gate. Willa thinks she can handle her new chaotic life, but as she draws closer to a dashing young ironworker and risks grow at the bridge, she discovers that hiding from what she truly wants may be her biggest lie of all.
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I loved reading this novel, even though a problem emerged towards the end of it (which I’ll get to later.) Who wouldn’t love a story about a young girl (Willa is 18 years old) who discovers a love for medicine and her life’s calling after meeting another woman doctor who believes in her?
Poor Willa MacCarthy inhabits a devout Catholic household in which she has to contend with four older brothers and two parents bent on sending her to Convent Prison (in which she will have to remain silent for ten hours a day).
Why does a brilliant, feisty young woman even consider this form of death? Because she holds a terrible secret that gnaws at her every day of her life. Going to convent would make reparations. Or at least, so she thinks.
And so author Amy Trueblood sweeps us up into a large Irish Catholic family, living in San Francisco in 1936 (just when the Golden Gate Bridge was being constructed) with their love, their warmth, their secrets. Her characters jump off the page, and she situates you in that era of San Francisco’s history with her telling details.
So what is the problem?
It occurs towards the end of the novel. By this time it is blindingly clear what is going to happen. But Ms. Trueblood is not confident enough in her audience to appreciate this. The consequence is that the material becomes unnecessarily repetitive, which spoils an otherwise wonderful novel. Four Stars.
This book immerses you in an impeccably researched and lovingly recreated 1930s San Francisco. A young woman from a traditional Irish Catholic family must decide if she’s willing to defy her family’s expectations and society’s norms to become a doctor. There is a strong romance subplot and the whole story is set against the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Willa is the only daughter in a very Catholic household. Her four brothers come and go as they please, and help out in the bar their father owns. But eighteen year old Willa is heading to the convent to be a nun and her parents are very protective of her. Unfortunately, Willa doesn’t really want to join the convent, she wants to be a doctor. When her brother cuts his hand and she takes him to the local doctor, who happens to be a woman, the pieces start to fall into place for Willa to make her seemingly impossible dream a reality.
I enjoyed reading this book very much. It was interesting and well written and thought out. The characters were engaging and the descriptions of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction were especially fascinating.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author Amy Trueblood, and the publisher North Star Editions for the opportunity to read and enjoy this book. This is my honest opinion and I strongly recommend this novel.
When I read the synopsis of Across a Broken Shore, I knew it was the kind of book I would enjoy and I was happy to accept it. I was not disappointed at all. This book was filled with so much depth, feelings, and heavy subjects that I was not expecting. This book gave me all the feels and I connected with Willa from the first pages. It was unfortunate how her parents and older brothers—except Paddy—dictated her life and how she had been dealing with guilt for years over an accident that caused a tragedy she never meant to happen. Her family was grieving and no one knew how to deal with it. Willa’s determination to study medicine despite not having any support from her family and it wasn’t a profession women normally went into, was admirable. She was torn between duty and her wants. Seeing that struggle was what gave this book the complexity and Trueblood did an amazing job of showing it.
Willa was a strong female character who had become the obedient daughter since an accident some years prior to the book starting. It’s clear that Willa doesn’t have a strong relationship with her parents or any of her brothers besides Paddy. She does what is expected of her and will go into the convent in five months despite her interest in medicine.
The incident that changes the trajectory of Willa’s future, is when Paddy has an accident while working in the family bar. Nick, the eldest, and Willa are tasked with taking Paddy to a doctor since Willa’s twin brothers, Sean and Michael, are off on an errand and her father refuses to leave Willa in charge of the bar. They take him to see the doctor only to find out he retired and Doctor Katherine Winston is his replacement. Nick is shocked to see a woman who’s a doctor but Willa realises that their brother needs help and moves forward. She ends up being offered a job by Dr. Winston but is unsure about taking it. Willa has been reading medical books for a few years and because of her, Paddy did not lose too much blood. While talking with Willa, the doctor recognises Willa’s passion for the profession. Paddy is the one who eventually convinces Willa to take Dr. Winston up on her offer and he will help her figure out how to lie to their parents and other brothers. He realises it’s an opportunity for Willa to have hands on learning and he’s hoping she will go after what she wants.
During this, Willa also meets a young ironworker named Sam who is a drifter living in a boarding house in her neighbourhood and working on The Golden Gate Bridge. She starts working for the doctor and is learning a lot from her but she feels guilty at having to lie to her family about her whereabouts all the time. She and the doctor are called to help at the field hospital onsite for The Golden Gate Bridge and she sees Sam again. Later, she sees Simon—the son of a pregnant woman who Willa helped Dr. Winston treat—again as well when she learns he’s been stealing from the nurses at the field hospital. This leads to her learning about the state of the homeless people in San Francisco and sparks her nurturing and caring nature. The story progresses from there with Willa learning so much from Dr. Winston and growing closer to Sam, Simon and his family. She’s constantly going back and forth with herself and with others about what she will choose to do. I don’t want to give away the major points of this story but know that it ripped me apart and had me crying my eyes out by the end.
This was a well-written story about love, family, grief, guilt, and finding your way in the world. Willa was one of my favourite characters and her struggle became my struggle as I read Across a Broken Shore. It was clear she was trying to do what she thought was the right thing. She’s wracked with guilt and since no one has talked to her about it, she didn’t know how to get past it. I loved Sam. He was caring, sweet, and it was very clear that his feelings for Willa were immediate and real. He encouraged her and would never be the type of man to hold her back. I also liked Willa’s family. It was interesting how all of them were dealing with their grief the only way they knew how but by the end they had to deal with it together to move on. Dr. Winston was a strong female character who believed in Willa even when Willa could not believe in herself. She wanted to see the next generation of female doctors succeed and that’s why she took Willa under her wings. I loved Cara—Willa’s best friend—too because she was also a strong character who knew what she wanted out of life and went for it.
Across a Broken Shore was a heartbreaking, beautiful, and timely story about a young woman having to decide between family expectations and her dreams. Trueblood did a magnificent job of showing the internal struggle Willa was going through and showing a strong, tight-knit family. I enjoyed that there was a backdrop of a love that did not overshadow the overall story. This was another favourite for me and it will stick with me for a long time.
*Published on The Nerd Daily’s website*
Wilhelmina is following her parents’ wishes and will soon be heading off to the convent. As she secrets medical books in her room, Willa’s desire to be a physician is quickly becoming a pipe dream. When her brother, Paddy, is injured, the lady doctor that fixes his hand is a well of knowledge Willa wants to dip into. Her conflicting emotions and obligations war within her soul.
This is a great novel with interesting facts and information thrown in. It is well written and easy to read. The characters are full and relatable. Both Willa and Doctor Winston are likeable and well rounded. Even with their faults, I cheered for and cried with them. I could envision the office, hospital and Hooverville in which they operated as intricate storylines flitted among them.
I highly recommend this historical novel for both young adult and adult readers. It is an emotional and thought-provoking story, especially for young readers who are questioning which way to go with their lives. It is an entertaining and realistic book for the rest of us.
I received an ARC from North Star Editions – Flux through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review.
As a native San Franciscan, I related to all the wonderful descriptions of my city. The Richmond District, the closeness of neighbors in “small town” SF, a world class city, and then the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
This is Willa’s story and her struggle to find herself and her destiny, be it a nun or a physician. This is about family expectation’s, losses that change the relationships in families, and the guilt they can carry. It’s about a young girl’s journey from girl to woman and the pull of family vs dreams and ambitions.
I love historical fiction,and this was a good one.
My thanks to #NetGalley, #NorthStarEditions and #AmyTrueblood for my ARC. Definitely
Across a Broken Shore by Amy Trueblood is a wonderful novel written in the voice of a young 18 year old woman named Willa (Wilhelmina) MacCarthy.
Here is a historical nonfiction book set in San Francisco in the 1930s during the time of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. It is also a coming of age novel where Willa trying to find her future and calling and the struggle between what she “should do” based on what her parents want for her, and what her heart calls out for her to do.
The internal struggle of deciding on her parent’s path of Willa joining the convent as os a family tradition, or following her heart on this new-found discovery and journey into medicine at the encouragement of her new friends and her new mentor Dr. Katherine Winston, gives us a wonderful, heartfelt story that most of us can relate to in one way or another. Being a female practicing in medicine, I especially am drawn to Willa and her struggles. It even brought tears to my eyes at one point.
This is a wonderful book and a treasure. This is a must read and I give it 5/5.
An interesting story for me as I don’t know much about Golden Gate and how the bride was built as I never been in the states. I loved the heroine for her willingness to study something that she likes more and feeling that she can help more the people around her instead of becoming a nun as her very conservatives parents are requesting from her. I didn’t liked that she didn’t stand for herself from the beginning and that she had to hide and involve her brothers as well, but I liked the family bound between them. Overall was a great story and i’m Looking forward to other books by the author.