Luanne Rice tells the story of two characters from her previous novels: Sister Bernadette and Tom Kelly. Sister Bernadette is the head nun at the Star of the Sea Academy on the rugged Eastern coastline. Tom is the groundskeeper and maintenance man at the Academy. The two share a great deal of history. WHAT MATTERS MOST finally delves into that history and will satisfy new readers and Rice followers alike.
About the time Sister Bernadette received her "calling" she was also madly in love with Tom. They conceived a child together in Ireland. After much agony, she decided to place the child up for adoption and dedicated her life to religion. Tom never got over her and, at times, the reader thinks that Sister Bernadette might not have gotten over him. After 23 years, she is clearly conflicted and has buried her emotions about her love for Tom and the decision to give up their child.
Sister Bernadette and Tom travel back to Ireland in search of the young man they gave up for adoption years ago. They encounter an angry nun from the past who seems to have an ax to grind with Sister Bernadette and tries to impede their mission.
In addition to the main plotline, there are two other stories interwoven into the book -- one about a young man named Seamus and another about a young woman named Kathleen. At first, the stories seem random, but the reader knows if they keep reading, connections will appear. Everyone seems to be searching for something important that's been lost. If you're looking for an enjoyable, engaging, soul-searching book, Rice delivers with WHAT MATTERS MOST.
Sister Bernadette Ignatius has returned to Ireland in the
company of Tom Kelly to search for the past β and the son β
they left behind. For it was here that these two long-ago
lovers spent a season of magic before Bernadetteβs calling
led her to a vocation as Mother Superior at Star of the Sea
Academy on the sea-tossed Connecticut shore. For Tom,
Bernadetteβs choice meant giving up his fortune and taking
the job as caretaker at Star of the Sea, where he could be
close to the woman he could no longer have but whom he
never stopped loving. And while one miracle drew them
apart, another is about to bring them together again.
For somewhere in Dublin a young man named Seamus Sullivan
is also on a search, dreaming of being reunited with his
own first love, the only βfamilyβ heβs ever known. Theyβd
been inseparable growing up together at St. Augustineβs
Childrenβs Home, until Kathleen Murphyβs parents claimed
her and she vanished across the sea to America. Now, in a
Newport mansion, that very girl, grown to womanhood, works
as a maid and waits with a faith that defies all reason for
the miracle thatwill bring back the only boy sheβs ever
loved.
That miracle is at hand β but like most miracles, it can
come only after the darkest of nights and the deepest of
heartbreaks. For life can be as precarious as a walk along
a cliff, and its greatest rewards reached only by those who
dare to risk everythingβ¦for what matters most.
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