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In 1947, war bride Ursula arrives in Minneapolis torn between guilt over leaving loved ones behind and her desire to start a new life, and a family, in this promised land. But the American dream proves elusive—she is struck with polio, and then shocked by the sudden death of her GI husband. 

Without a spouse or the child she so desperately wanted, Ursula must rely on her shrewd survival skills from wartime Berlin, and she takes in a boarder to help make ends meet. She soon falls in love with the Argentinean medical technician living in her spare bedroom, but his devotion to communism troubles her—and when she finds herself pregnant with his child, she is faced with a dilemma: how to reconcile her dream of motherhood with an America that is so different from what she imagined. 

PRAISE for WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND

Triumphant and affecting, the historical novel What We Leave Behind follows an immigrant as she faces polio and the distrust of others. —Foreword Clarion Reviews

Read the full review here.

What We Leave Behind is a stirring narrative of love, determination, loss, and renewed resolve. Gallagher Kearney’s understanding of the difficulties and challenges of disability coupled with the angst of separation from family illuminate every page. As a polio survivor, I nodded often at her portrayals of the nuances of disability and how it affects one’s familial, social and romantic life. Thanks to Gallagher Kearney’s deft prose, her grandmother Ursula, will not be left behind. —Francine Falk-Allen, author of Not a Poster Child: Living Well with a Disability – A Memoir and No Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging and Disability

Based on her biological grandmother’s life, Christine Gallagher Kearney adeptly crafts the story of a German war bride, whose dreams of comfort and ease in mid-century America pan out quite differently than imagined, but who, battling polio, loneliness and an unexpected pregnancy, grows into her own life’s stern heroine. — Annette Gendler, author of Jumping Over Shadows and How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History

What We Leave Behind is a heartfelt portrait of a woman whose story—despite the 1940-50's setting—feels vital to our contemporary lives. Ursula’s fear, grief, and joy are lovingly rendered by Gallagher Kearney, whose close connection to the source material brings history to life. The novel’s themes are universal: the big swings we take when we dream of something more, the unexpected and profound loss that life contains, and the resiliency that drives us forward. —Krista Diamond, contributing freelance writer to The New York Times, Longreads, HuffPost, and more