It is 1898. Bridie Murphey is twenty-two years old, widowed, with three young boys, two holding onto her skirts and the baby strapped to her chest. She is in line at the port of Newry, Ireland, waiting to board a ship to America. Bridie carries deep grief, confusion, and necessity along with her scant belongings, and she carries the reader with her on her journey to a new life. We are with her for every step and misstep, every new beginning and setback, every triumph and tear shed, until more than a decade later, she finds her place in another Town Named Newry.

Immigrant stories are American stories. They resonate with readers who are still adding chapters to their own families' immigrant stories, and aren't we all? In A Town Named Newry, Alix Crawford Carney gives us a heroine who is both familiar and unique. Readers will remember Bridey Murphey long after the book ends.