Laura's Publications
Her eyes were fixed on my face. "Men," she said simply. "And women. Make mistakes. Blissful, dreadful mistakes. But more often than not not, women pay the price."
1933. A three-story tenement in a mill town west of Boston. In the third-floor apartment hangs a portrait of unforgettable beauty: Ada a neighbor's daughter, who disappeared years before. In the apartment below, two sisters—thoughtful, sensible Violet and gifted but fragile Glory—come of age unaware of how the missing Ada haunts their lives. As disease and poverty threaten their family, they are each other's refuge. But as they reach adulthood, the fallout from a broken love affair—while unraveling the mystery of Ada—threatens their bond.
Narrated in turns by each of the sisters, Our Share of Morning reveals how contagion, misogyny, and a series of betrayals force Violet and Glory to face immutable loss. Poignant and poetic, the novel is a meditation on meaning, fate, forgiveness, and the fierce endurance of sisterly love.
". . . an extraordinary and engaging read from beginning to end. Unreservedly recommended.”
–Midwest Book Review
"The prose captures both the innocence of childhood perception and the weight of adult grief, often through striking imagery . . . The sisters’ voices intertwine to form a vivid portrait of resilience and love."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Five stars."
—Readers' Favorite
". . . a poignant and beautifully crafted novel that delves into themes of love, loss, and forgiveness."
—Cynthia Reeves, award-winning author of The Last Whaler
". . . beautifully written, with tension and tenderness. Long after you finish reading, the characters will stay with you."
—Isabel Tutaine, author of Song of the Wooden Sparrow
Available at Bookshop.org or wherever books are sold.
1933. A three-story tenement in a mill town west of Boston. In the third-floor apartment hangs a portrait of unforgettable beauty: Ada a neighbor's daughter, who disappeared years before. In the apartment below, two sisters—thoughtful, sensible Violet and gifted but fragile Glory—come of age unaware of how the missing Ada haunts their lives. As disease and poverty threaten their family, they are each other's refuge. But as they reach adulthood, the fallout from a broken love affair—while unraveling the mystery of Ada—threatens their bond.
Narrated in turns by each of the sisters, Our Share of Morning reveals how contagion, misogyny, and a series of betrayals force Violet and Glory to face immutable loss. Poignant and poetic, the novel is a meditation on meaning, fate, forgiveness, and the fierce endurance of sisterly love.
". . . an extraordinary and engaging read from beginning to end. Unreservedly recommended.”
–Midwest Book Review
"The prose captures both the innocence of childhood perception and the weight of adult grief, often through striking imagery . . . The sisters’ voices intertwine to form a vivid portrait of resilience and love."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Five stars."
—Readers' Favorite
". . . a poignant and beautifully crafted novel that delves into themes of love, loss, and forgiveness."
—Cynthia Reeves, award-winning author of The Last Whaler
". . . beautifully written, with tension and tenderness. Long after you finish reading, the characters will stay with you."
—Isabel Tutaine, author of Song of the Wooden Sparrow
Available at Bookshop.org or wherever books are sold.
On the shores of Consecration Pond, a burn victim seeks forgiveness from her husband's ghost, a retired teacher struggles to make sense of his neighbor's death, and a boy's self-imposed rite of passage nearly costs him his life. Together, the eleven linked short stories in Consecration Pond offer a meditation on the nature of wisdom, the risks and gifts of allowing ourselves to be seen, and the challenge of creating meaning in the wake of loss.
"This is a solid, meditative collection of interconnected short stories that weave together seemingly disparate narratives into a satisfying and cohesive whole. . . . With each story, readers come to know characters through personal, voice-driven prose. As their circumstances and dilemmas reveal themselves, the collection begins to leave a gently haunting impression."
—Publishers Weekly
"With candor and sensitivity, these luminous stories trace the highs and lows of the residents from Consecration Pond, people of the stars, the loons, and the changing seasons. . . . Take this book to a lakeside cottage and savor it well into the night."
—Jodi Paloni, author of They Could Live with Themselves
"Separate lives, touched by tragedy, sustained by love, connected by the still waters of Consecration Pond. Eleven individual stories, skillfully interwoven, beautifully told."
—Johnna Bragg, award-winning author of Exit 8
Available at Bookshop.org or wherever books are sold.
Laura's fiction and essays have also appeared in numerous literary magazines and in anthologies. Her essay "Further Treatment, or Hospice? Three Deaths Compared" was published in the May, 2020 issue of the American Journal of Nursing. In addition, Laura has published poems in more than thirty literary magazines, including The Connecticut River Review, Off the Coast, Steam Ticket, and Two Hawks Quarterly. Her poems also appear in several anthologies, have been finalists in the 2018 and 2021 Maine Postmark Poetry Contest, and have been read aloud on Maine Public Radio's Poems from Here.
"This is a solid, meditative collection of interconnected short stories that weave together seemingly disparate narratives into a satisfying and cohesive whole. . . . With each story, readers come to know characters through personal, voice-driven prose. As their circumstances and dilemmas reveal themselves, the collection begins to leave a gently haunting impression."
—Publishers Weekly
"With candor and sensitivity, these luminous stories trace the highs and lows of the residents from Consecration Pond, people of the stars, the loons, and the changing seasons. . . . Take this book to a lakeside cottage and savor it well into the night."
—Jodi Paloni, author of They Could Live with Themselves
"Separate lives, touched by tragedy, sustained by love, connected by the still waters of Consecration Pond. Eleven individual stories, skillfully interwoven, beautifully told."
—Johnna Bragg, award-winning author of Exit 8
Available at Bookshop.org or wherever books are sold.
Laura's fiction and essays have also appeared in numerous literary magazines and in anthologies. Her essay "Further Treatment, or Hospice? Three Deaths Compared" was published in the May, 2020 issue of the American Journal of Nursing. In addition, Laura has published poems in more than thirty literary magazines, including The Connecticut River Review, Off the Coast, Steam Ticket, and Two Hawks Quarterly. Her poems also appear in several anthologies, have been finalists in the 2018 and 2021 Maine Postmark Poetry Contest, and have been read aloud on Maine Public Radio's Poems from Here.