My Secret to Keep is the second novel by Barbara Conrey, who writes lovely women’s fiction. The book spans decades in the life of Maggie Bryan. She expects to follow the route of virtually every woman in her old-fashioned hometown: finish high school, marry, perhaps work in a factory, and eventually have children. Her plans go astray at age sixteen: she falls in love with Niko and gets pregnant. When she confides in her parents, they immediately disown her. Maggie is determined to be a good wife to Niko and a good mother to their baby. Fate intervenes, and a freak accident changes her life again. With no other options, she turns to her much-older brother, Sam. Against his wife’s wishes, Sam brings Maggie home to the heart of rural Pennsylvania Dutch country, an area even more conservative than where she grew up.
Maggie again revises her life plan. While awaiting the birth of her child, she navigates the tension in her new home, wards off the pressure to give the baby up for adoption, and takes GED classes at the local high school. Her volunteer educator, Anne Phillips, is an architect. Maggie develops feelings for Anne similar to those she felt for Niko. But after Sam and his judgmental wife have a “talk” with Maggie, she must hide those feelings.
The rigidity of the town’s mores separate Maggie from the other residents. Gossip and insinuations follow her through her difficult life. For decades, Maggie’s true self remains submerged beneath her secrets, until she is redeemed in Conrey’s vivid prose.
I’ve spent fifteen years in Pennsylvania, so I can attest to the accuracy of Conrey’s descriptions of Pennsylvania Dutch country. This book also pulls a character from her debut novel, Nowhere Near Goodbye, and gives Maggie a life of her own.
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My Secret to Keep (Red Adept Publishing, August 23, 2022) is available through:
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You can find my review of Barbara’s debut novel, Nowhere Near Goodbye (Red Adept Publishing, August 4, 2020) here and my interview with her here.
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