{"product_id":"laras-story-9781946146236","title":"Lara's Story","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSOME TIDES NEVER RECEDE.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn famine-stricken Ireland, Lara Flannigan grows up surrounded by the warmth of a large, boisterous family. Though hardship is everywhere, she believes the love binding them together can survive anything. Then tragedy shatters her world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith her family facing starvation, Lara is sold into servitude and placed in the household of a cruel landlord. Stripped of her freedom and separated from everyone she loves, she must summon the courage to escape before the life she once knew disappears forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Charity and Zane Roscoe, a childless American couple visiting Ireland to aid those suffering during the famine, discover Lara alone and gravely ill, they offer her an unexpected chance at survival. Their kindness carries her across the Atlantic and into a new life in Philadelphia, where elegant townhouses, elaborate gowns, and the rigid expectations of high society could not be further removed from the rugged Irish coast she still calls home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Lara grows from a wounded child into a determined young woman, she works to reconcile the girl she was with the woman she is expected to become. She pursues an education, establishes a charitable mission for struggling immigrants, forms an enduring friendship, and discovers the possibility of love. Yet the past has not released its hold on her. When a familiar enemy returns and threatens to take away her freedom once again, Lara must decide whether she will remain defined by what was done to her or finally claim her future on her own terms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpanning famine-era Ireland and nineteenth-century Philadelphia, \u003cem\u003eLara's Story\u003c\/em\u003e is an award-winning historical coming-of-age novel about immigration, class, family, survival, forgiveness, and the quiet courage required to make a life between two worlds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRichly atmospheric and deeply human, Diane Merrill Wigginton's sweeping novel celebrates the strength of the human spirit and the healing power of love, belonging, and second chances.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReaders' Choice Awards 2019\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eFirst Place, Historical Fiction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eGrand Prize Winner\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSet in a fascinating historical period, Lara's Story is a gripping young adult novel that explores the strength of the human spirit and the power of forgiveness to heal a broken heart.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independent Author\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781946146236\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 312\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.29lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.81d","brand":"Diane Merrill Merrill Wigginton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53459054952629,"sku":"9781946146236","price":21.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/9781946146236.jpg?v=1791297671","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/laras-story-9781946146236","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}