IN ORDER OF MOST RECENT TO EARLIER ONES …
Universe of Two
A love story set in 1944 amid the development of the atomic bomb, this novel tells the tale of Charlie Fish, a young math whiz ordered to build an essential component of the bomb, and his sweetheart Brenda, who is not allowed to know what he's working on, but who pushes him to finish his job like a good soldier. After the war, they spend the rest of their lives seeking redemption -- and they find it.
“Stephen Kiernan has pulled off the nearly impossible, reminding us by wrapping a war story in a love story that although we hold the power for our own extinction, we also have the power to redeem, heal, and save. The most tender, terrifying, relevant book you’ll read this year.” — Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of THOSE WHO SAVE US and THE LOST FAMILY
“Kiernan’s finest work to date. … A brilliant job of alternating the narrative voices as well as the perspective. Charlie and Brenda’s lives are cloaked in secret emotions and secret missions, but they find that love is a balm. Kiernan has crafted a romance for the ages, and a tribute to the hard working Americans who grappled with the morality of their war duties. Novels like UNIVERSE OF TWO ensure that readers do not forget the past. – Pamela Klinger-Horn, Excelsior Bay Books
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The Baker’s Secret
On the eve of D-Day, a clever young French girl in occupied Normandy is determined to keep herself and her fellow villagers alive -- a task that requires nimble fingers, a strong back, and all of her cunning.
Nothing is more audacious or more inspiring than the human spirit, as we see in Stephen Kiernan's luminous new novel, The Baker's Secret. With painterly precision and great heart, Kiernan gives us an intimate view of a small French village forced to endure the soul-stifling humiliations of German occupation, and Emma, the young baker and consummate survivor whose boldness and ingenuity help keep her village alive as they pray the Allies will make good on their promise of rescue. Emma is an unforgettable heroine, and Kiernan's novel will have you weeping, and then cheering. A tale beautifully, wisely, and masterfully told. ―Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Circling the Sun
Focusing on a momentous occasion--D-Day, June 6, 1944--The Baker's Secret makes the moment personal, particular and vivid. Almost crushed by Nazi occupation, French villagers have no way of knowing that liberation is eminent or of its monumental cost in American and British life. This novel transcends even a critical moment in history to suggest the human condition of ignorance of the future and the necessity of hope, courage, and unselfish sacrifice. --Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and Four Spirits
Starred reviews in Booklist and Library Journal
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The Hummingbird
Deborah Birch, an experienced hospice nurse, finds her care-taking skills tested to the utmost when her husband Michael returns from his 3rd deployment in Iraq. Her primary patient at the time — the curmudgeon and renowned historian Barclay Reed — knows a story from World War II that might help her husband to heal.
"I'm not sure I've ever read a novel that so poignantly depicts the brevity of life, the significance of each moment, the impact we have on one another." -- Mary Morris, author of The Jazz Palace
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The Curiosity
Dr. Kate Philo works at an experimental lab that has brought frozen krill and shrimp back to life. But no one is prepared for the consequences when the lab attempts to awaken a frozen man, found in Arctic ice: a media frenzy, religious protests, and a high stakes debate over the ethics of science when it tries to overcome mortality.
"As thought-provoking and powerful as Flowers for Algernon, and the writing is breaktakingly beautiful." -- Chris Bohjalian, author of The Sleepwalker
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NONFICTION
Last Rights
Too many patients today suffer needlessly at the end of their lives, invaded by excessive machinery, unjustified interventions and futile treatments. There is a better way -- through the dignified, humane, compassionate models of hospice and palliative care. This book reveals the problem and shows a loving way forward.
"Last Rights is to end-of-life care today what Nader's 'Unsafe at Any Speed' was to car safety in the 1960s" -- Ira Byock MD, author of Dying Well and The Four Things That Matter Most
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Authentic Patriotism
If you measure by hunger, homelessness, social isolation or civic involvement, America is in worse shape than most people know. Government is too broke and polarized to fix things, and the free market rewards wealth first. Yet this book tells the stories of people who are solving the hardest problems, through volunteerism and civic engagement, by making the well-being of the nation their business.
"Authentic Patriotism is the story of people whom you have never heard of, but who are most responsible for the greatness of America." -- Gov. Howard Dean MD
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