a novel by Kathleen Shoop
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A Nurse’s Obligation
A Town’s Demise
A Mother’s Regret
A Son’s Calling
A Daughter’s Mistake
A Time to Forgive
For every woman who thinks she left her past behind…
Kathleen Shoop’s second novel, After The Fog, published in April 2012
In the steel town of Donora, Pennsylvania, site of the infamous 1948 “killing smog,” headstrong nurse Rose Pavlesic tends to her family and neighbors. Controlling and demanding, she’s created a life that reflects everything she missed growing up as an orphan. She’s even managed to keep her painful secrets hidden from her loving husband, dutiful children, and large extended family.
When a stagnant weather pattern traps poisonous mill gasses in the valley, neighbors grow sicker and Rose’s nursing obligations thrust her into conflict she never could have fathomed. Consequences from her past collide with her present life, making her once clear decisions as gray as the suffocating smog. As pressure mounts, Rose finds she’s not the only one harboring lies. When the deadly fog finally clears, the loss of trust and faith leaves the Pavlesic family—and the whole town—splintered and shocked. With her new perspective, can Rose finally forgive herself and let her family’s healing begin?
“Shoop masterfully details familial struggles, secrets, and consequences that keep the reader riveted til the end.”
– Melissa Foster
“A great and satisfying read. Rose’s triumph over adversity touched me deeply. Ms. Shoop truly knows how to tug the heartstrings. S. K. McClafferty, author of The Ghost and Devlin Muir.”
– S. K. McClafferty, author of The Ghost and Devlin Muir
“This is a well-written story set authentically in a historic place and time, around an intricate plot which includes most of the elements that provide for a good “soap opera,” or a book that would be accepted by Oprah Winfrey.”
-Historical Novel Society