Premise: A woman whose mother died on September 11 confronts a crisis that challenges her marriage, family relationships, and understanding of the past.
Author’s Bibliography: 30th Novel
Literary Themes: Family Relationships, Motherhood, Grief, Trauma, Loss, Identity, Secrets, Love, and Emotional Resilience
Bestseller Status: Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

The Lasting Shadow of September 11

Molly Fitzgerald, a woman whose life has been shaped by the death of her mother in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attackss, was nly two months old when her mother died at the World Trade Center, Molly grows up acutely aware of life’s unpredictability.

As an adult, she becomes the director of Rhode Island’s Department for Emergency Preparedness, devoting her professional life to anticipating disasters and protecting others. She marries Jesse Fitzgerald, a police polygraph expert who carries his own complicated history.

When an unexpected crisis disrupts their marriage, both are forced to confront difficult truths about their pasts, relationships, and the stories they have come to believe about themselves.

Moving between past and present, the novel examines the lengths people go to protect those they love, the emotional consequences of trauma, and the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters.