All quotations from scripture are from The New English Bible with the Apocrypha, used with permission from the publisher, Oxford Publishing Limited, reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear. For the hymns of the Divine Office quoted, permission was granted by the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, Missouri, from The Music Supplement to The Liturgy of the Hours, 1979 (Benziger Brothers). The poem by Patrick MacDonogh, “Be Still As You Are Beautiful,” is used by kind permission of Estate of Patrick MacDonogh c/o The Gallery Press, Loughcrew, Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland, from Poems 2001. For the line from the song “Unchained Melody,” permission was granted by Abby North of Unchained Melody Publishing LLC.
Writing a novel is a journey. Along the way, many people have lent a helping hand. For reading an early draft and for her incisive comments and suggestions, I thank novelist Christine Bell, author of The Perez Family, Saint, and her recent novel Grievance. Much gratitude is owed to Herta Feely and Emily Williamson of Chrysalis Editorial for their suggestions on the manuscript and their encouragement. Thanks to Tom Epley, an early agent for the novel. I am grateful to Brooke Warner, Shannon Green, and the team from She Writes Press for publishing the work. Special thanks to Sister Helene Rueffer, C.PP.S, with whom I worked in Lima, for her stories that she shared with me. Thanks to my dear son-in-law, Max Benitez, for developing a prototype of the map of Peru and Bolivia. Thanks to publicists Crystal Patriarche, Tabitha Bailey, and Hanna Pollock of BookSparks for their support.
Several close friends and colleagues have read early drafts and cheered me on. Thanks to Karen Sirmans, Mary Bozeman, Peg Wallace, Bill and Nina Burke, Ginny Vail and her mother from Peru, Graciela Rabines Kelly, and Sister Fran Raia, C.PP.S. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, Missouri, for the eleven formative years I spent among them. Above all thanks to the wonderful people of Peru from whom I learned so much and whose literature, art, and culture I fell in love with.
My mother Margaret O’Shea and my father Tom O’Shea both read early drafts and were not too scandalized. My brothers Dan, Tim, and Matt; sisters Katie, Ellen, and Mary Grace; and sister-in-law Kay O’Shea urged me on. Finally, I thank my three wonderful children, Kristin, Tim, and John, who waited patiently for my attention over the years and who encourage me every day. Above all, I thank my husband, Michael, whose fine eye for detail in proofreading as well as his constant enthusiasm and patience saw me through the process. His love sustains me always.
A
bout the Author
Marian O’Shea Wernicke is the author of a memoir, Tom O’Shea, A Twentieth Century Man: A Daughter’s Search for Her Father’s Story. She is also co-editor with Herta Feely of a collection of short stories and memoirs called Confessions: Fact or Fiction? She studied under poets Derek Walcott, Maxine Kumin, and Mark Jarman at the Sewanee Writers Conference. A professor of English for 25 years at Pensacola State College, Wernicke also served as department head of English and Communications. As a nun for eleven years, Wernicke taught in St. Louis and in Lima, Peru. Married and the mother of three grown children, she and her husband now live in Austin, Texas.
Author photo © Matthew O’Shea Photography
Selected Titles From She Writes Press
She Writes Press is an independent publishing company founded to serve women writers everywhere. Visit us at www.shewritespress.com.
The Black Velvet Coat by Jill G. Hall. $16.95, 978-1-63152-009-9. When the current owner of a black velvet coat—a San Francisco artist in search of inspiration—and the original owner, a 1960s heiress who fled her affluent life fifty years earlier, cross paths, their lives are forever changed . . . for the better.
Shrug by Lisa Braver Moss. $16.95, 978-1631526381. It’s the 1960s, and teenager Martha Goldenthal just wants to do well at Berkeley High and have a normal life—but how can she when her mother is needy and destructive and her father is a raging batterer who disdains academia? When her mother abandons the family, Martha must stand up to her father to fulfill her vision of going to college.
The Belief in Angels by J. Dylan Yates. $16.95, 978-1-938314-64-3. From the Majdonek death camp to a volatile hippie household on the East Coast, this narrative of tragedy, survival, and hope spans more than fifty years, from the 1920s to the 1970s.
Profound and Perfect Things by Maribel Garcia. $16.95, 978-1631525414. When Isa, a closeted lesbian with conservative Mexican parents, has a one-night stand that results in an unwanted pregnancy, her sister, Cristina adopts the baby—but twelve years later, Isa, who regrets giving up her child, threatens to spill the secret of her daughter’s true parentage.
The Moon Always Rising by Alice C. Early. $16.95, 978-1-63152-683-1. When Eleanor “Els” Gordon’s life cracks apart, she exiles herself to a derelict plantation house on the Caribbean island of Nevis—and discovers, with the help of her resident ghost, that only through love and forgiveness can she untangle years-old family secrets and set herself free to love again.
The Vintner’s Daughter by Kristen Harnisch. $16.95, 978-163152-929-0. Set against the sweeping canvas of French and California vineyard life in the late 1890s, this is the compelling tale of one woman’s struggle to reclaim her family’s Loire Valley vineyard—and her life.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Dios
Chapter One. Thursday, June 25, 1964
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight. Friday, June 26, 1964
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven. August 29, 1957
Chapter Twelve. Saturday, June 27, l964
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen. Sunday, June 28, 1964
Chapter Fifteen. Monday, June 29, 1964
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen. Tuesday, June 30, 1964
Chapter Nineteen. Wednesday, July 1, 1964
Chapter Twenty. Thursday, July 2, 1964
Chapter Twenty-One. Friday, July 3, 1964
Acknowledgments
About the Author
