Stella's Story

Stella Maguire is the apple of her daddy’s eye. Growing up on a small farm in Fermanagh during the 1940s, smothered by small-town life, she dreams of becoming someone special. When she finally escapes to the bright lights of Belfast City, the War is in full swing: American soldiers fill the restaurants and bars, there is work aplenty, and the whiff of opportunity scents the air.

But a simple mistake abruptly derails Stella’s plans. Facing into single motherood, alone and destitute, she is forced to make the toughest decision of her young life – to give up her beloved baby boy for adoption. Fleeing Belfast for Dublin and then the USA, Stella tries to outrun her troubled past. But, years later, an unexpected phone call from a young man in search of his mother upends Stella’s world.

Stella’s Story is Eugene McEldowney’s heartfelt account of one woman’s quest to free herself from the webs of secrets and lies that have entangled her life. Recounted by Stella herself as she nears the end of her years, it movingly chronicles the brutal realities of an unforgiving epoch in Irish history.

Praise for Stella's Story:

‘Eugene McEldowney is a magnetic storyteller … the proof was in the tear that fell onto the last page’ Justine McCarthy, Irish Independent

‘Stella’s Story tells of a life, from its beginning to its near end, in precise and moving language.  With great care … [Eugene McEldowney] gives us a novel which tells both Stella Maguire’s story and that of the great, middle sweep of the 20th century’ Rose Doyle, The Irish Times

‘Stella’s Story is a considerable achievement for McEldowney. It is powerful, evocative and deeply moving’ Aodhan Madden, Evening Herald

‘A heartfelt book by a skilled writer, populated with vivid characters living in an age unforgiving to transgression’ John Dolan, Evening Echo                                               

‘A truly absorbing read’ Sunday Business Post