What We Leave Behind: A Novel

(Paperback)

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In 1947, war bride Ursula arrives in Minneapolis torn between guilt over leaving loved ones behind and her desire to start a new lifeand a familyin this promised land. But the American dream proves elusiveshe is struck with polio, and then shocked by the sudden death of her GI husband.

Without a spouse or the child she so desperately wanted, Ursula must rely on her shrewd survival skills from wartime Berlin, and she takes in a boarder to help make ends meet. She soon falls in love with the Argentinean medical technician living in her spare bedroom, but his devotion to communism troubles herand when she finds herself pregnant with his child, she is faced with a dilemma: how to reconcile her dream of motherhood with an America that is so different from what she imagined.

Reviews

Based on her biological grandmothers life, Christine Gallagher Kearney adeptly crafts the story of a German war bride, whose dreams of comfort and ease in mid-century America pan out quite differently than imagined, but who, battling polio, loneliness, and an unexpected pregnancy, grows into her own lifes stern heroine.
Annette Gendler, author ofJumping Over ShadowsandHow to Write Compelling Stories from Family History

What We Leave Behindis a stirring narrative of love, determination, loss, and renewed resolve. Gallagher Kearneys understanding of the difficulties and challenges of disability coupled with the angst of separation from family illuminate every page. As a polio survivor, I nodded often at her portrayals of the nuances of disability and how it affects ones familial, social, and romantic life. Thanks to Gallagher Kearneys deft prose, her grandmother Ursula will not be left behind.
Francine Falk-Allen, author of Not a Poster Child: Living Well with a DisabilityA MemoirandNo Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging and Disability

What We Leave Behindis a heartfelt portrait of a woman whose storydespite the 1940's settingfeels vital to our contemporary lives. Ursulas fear, grief, and joy are lovingly rendered by Gallagher, whoseclose connection to the source material brings history to life. The novels themes are universal: the big swings we take when we dream of something more, the unexpected and profound loss that life contains, and the resiliency that drives us forward.
Krista Diamond, contributing freelance writertoThe New York Times, Longreads,HuffPost, and more

Author Bio

Christine Gallagher Kearney is a Midwest Review Great Midwest Writing Contest finalist, and a semi-finalist for Chestnut Review's Stubborn Artists Contest. She has published in Wild Roof Journal, Driftless Magazine, ForbesWoman, Fortune, and Cara Magazine and is a former food columnist for the Irish American News. Christine graduated with her bachelors degrees in International Relations and Spanish from Mount Holyoke College, later earning her masters degree in Organizational and Multicultural Communication through DePaul University. She has a career in the corporate world and writes in her off hours. What We Leave Behind is her debut novel. Christine grew up in Minnesota, but now lives in Chicago with her husband and dachshund.