{"product_id":"the-bells-9781636283623","title":"The Bells","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAUTHOR OF \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eLIVID - \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE MISSOURI REVIEW EDITORS PRIZE, THE SARTON AWARD, AND THE NAUTILUS AWARD \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCai Emmons awes readers with the release of\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e THE BELLS \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A book Cai finished on the day she died, is a story of life: how to live fully, embrace our messy complications, and swim toward love.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e-Miriam Gershow, author of Closer and Survival Tips: Stories \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThirty-three-year-old \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNiall O'Malley has failed a five-year mission to live as a monk and is attempting to redefine himself as a high school teacher in New Jersey.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs \u003cem\u003eThe Bells\u003c\/em\u003e opens, thirty-three-year-old Niall O'Malley has failed a five-year mission to live as a monk and is attempting to redefine himself as a high school teacher in New Jersey. The transition has been bumpy. He loves teaching history to inner city teens, but he hits a roadblock when a belligerent student, Colton, possibly a white-supremacist, behaves in ways that threaten Niall. As troubles mount at school, Niall's girlfriend Lluvia pressures him into making a deeper commitment to their relationship. She wants them to move in together with Lluvia's pre-teen daughter and elderly mother.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eHaunted by his failure as a Cistercian monk and his troubles with one man in particular, the abusive Brother Thomas, Niall abandons Lluvia and heads back to his old monastery in Massachusetts for a final showdown with Thomas, now dying of ALS. Redemption for Niall is elusive as he strives to mend his faith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Red Hen Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/28\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781636283623\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.57lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.58d","brand":"Cai Emmons","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51634888769717,"sku":"9781636283623","price":15.26,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_7ee5951b-e8b7-484a-b84f-f91592f08bba.jpg?v=1756789372","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-bells-9781636283623","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}