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The Year She Fell
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The Year She Fell (2010) (edit title/settings)

by Alicia Rasley (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

The tragic mystery at the heart of their family has finally surfaced . . . When Ellen Wakefield O'Connor is confronted by a young man armed with a birth certificate that mistakenly names her as his mother, she quickly sorts out the truth: his birth mother listed Ellen on the certificate to... read more

Summary edit see section history

Done in five segments, each told by a different main character.
Ellen - the arrival at church of a young man whose birth certificate shows his mother as "Ellen Elizabeth Wakefield" begins an enormous problem. Ellen, a minister at a Presbyterian church, has been married to Tom O'Connor... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Done in five segments, each told by a different main character.
Ellen - the arrival at church of a young man whose birth certificate shows his mother as "Ellen Elizabeth Wakefield" begins an enormous problem. Ellen, a minister at a Presbyterian church, has been married to Tom O'Connor for nearly 20 years, is the mother of a young girl, and has felt the marriage fairly solid. She has been there for Tom through his war correspondent years, traveled with him to many countries and stayed beside him after his capture in Tehran. This, though, tells Ellen that Tom had fathered this young man whose looks prove the parentage to her. Because she needed to think and her mother needed her daughters on hand for a major decision she was going to make, Ellen drove to her hometown of Wakefield. The decision made by Mrs. Wakefield wasn't to Ellen's liking, but there wasn't anything to be done about it.
Laura - An email from Ellen sets Laura off to go home to Wakefield. Her Porsche breaks down on the way and she is driven to her home by Jackson McCain, with whom she's had a history. Laura didn't see eye to eye with her mother, was really close to their father. Because of an incident in her recent background she and Jackson try to revive their relationship. Meanwhile, Laura decided that because of their mother's decision about the house, she will ship as many of their father's things to NY as she can. Ellen wouldn't say why she and Tom were at odds and Theresa came home from the cloister acting weird - and Mother was acting strangely, too. When finally Ellen told what had occurred, they tried to figure out the conception and birth dates - trying to figure out who the mother could be.
Tom - Tells of his feelings on seeing the boy, Brian; of his search for Ellen to find out where she went. Brian's capture of Tom, Ellen's visits and his subsequent release, of Ellen and Laura figuring out who the birth mother was, and Ellen's visit to Tom's hotel room afterwards.
Theresa - She was given for adoption at age 6 to Mrs. Wakefield, who was now a widow. Theresa's family, the Prices, moved away because her father was ill and there was no money to take care of everyone. She'd grown up between two religiions, the Catholic (which the Prices had raised her in) and the Presbyterian (where the Wakefields practiced) and then joined a nursing order of the Catholic convent when she was old enough. But after being in Rumania for two years and now being in a cloistered order, she still hadn't taken vows. When she'd asked to go home to aid her mother, it was allowed. When Theresa met Brian he sparked her interest in finding where the Prices had gone to and why they'd left her. In her search for the Prices, she drove into the mountains of West Virginia where the people are suspicious of outsiders. But she found a man who gave her some answers.
Jackson - In his role as police chief, Jackson is drawn into this web, finding that Mrs. Wakefield has begun her own search, with some strange and questionable results.

While solving the mysteries surrounding this secretive family, it is hoped that the family will not be split apart by the answers.

Characters edit see section history

  • Ellen Wakefield O'Connor: The middle daughter of the three Wakefield sisters. She is married to Tom, a CNN journalist, and she is a minister in a Virginia church.
  • Theresa Wakefield: Adopted by the Wakefield family at the age of 6, she never really fits in or is accepted by the other daughters. She hides for years in a cloistered Catholic convent (her birth family was Catholic) only to find she doesn't really have a vocation.
  • Jackson McCain: Former town "bad boy" now mature, responsible and the Wakefield town sheriff.
  • Tom O'Connor: Ellen's husband, a Pulitzer prize winning CNN journalist. Brian shows up, determined to find his birth parents,
  • Laura Wakefield: Ellen's other sister, a TV actress. She was the youngest daughter, until Theresa was adopted.
  • Cathy Wakefield: The sister who died in a climbing accident several years ago She was the adventurous, athletic one in the family.
  • Margaret Wakefield: Mrs. Wakefield is the matriarch of the Wakefield family. She's imperious and makes decisions that she believes will protect her family.
  • Prof. Ulrich: An unexpected villain in the story.
  • Brian Warrick: Named Adam Paul Wakefield on his birth certificate and adopted by the Warricks. He is 19 and the son of Tom O'Connor.
  • Merilee: Housekeeper for years for the Wakefield family, discharged when Mrs. Wakefield thought she was stealing.
  • Janie and Linda: Ellen's friends from her school years; she has lunch with them often.
  • Grady: The architect working on Laura's Southampton, NY place.
  • Trevor O'Connor: Tom's father, and Irishman, the owner of a tavern in Washington, D. C.
  • Mrs. Price: Housekeeper for the Wakefield family before Merilee. Theresa was theirs until they had to move away due to Mr. Price's health, then Mrs. Wakefield adopted her.
  • Ronnie Price: Younger than Mitch; same age as Jackson. He was into trouble as a young man, went to jail and then came home to die.
  • Mitch Price: Wood worker, artisan, loner. Oldest of the Price boys.
Show all 16 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • Secrets did that—they split reality into two parts, one for those who knew the secret, and one for those who didn’t.
    Highlighted by 238 Kindle customers
  • Adult relationships were always only one precarious step removed from replicating some childhood dynamic.
    Highlighted by 117 Kindle customers
  • I’d cared too much for too long, and even when it was right, even when he seemed the only one in the world who knew me truly, I felt a sense of lostness. I’d lost myself in him too long ago to remember, and every now and again, I tried to seize me back.
    Highlighted by 103 Kindle customers
  • Second children, the psychologists say, mold their identities around what the older sibling isn’t,
    Highlighted by 97 Kindle customers
  • life—there’s nothing like watching a child grow, with the one other person in the world who enjoys it just as much as you do.
    Highlighted by 84 Kindle customers
  • I had loved him with all the fierceness of youth, and he’d loved me back just as fiercely. I’d never felt that way again. But then, I’d never been sixteen again either. I was a grown woman now, hardened by experience and loss.
    Highlighted by 69 Kindle customers
  • That’s what happens when you marry young and stay together—you get grafted, bone-deep. It might not be good. It might not be healthy. But right now, it was what held me up.
    Highlighted by 68 Kindle customers
  • Erudite. You know what I mean.”  Ridell nodded. “Big
    Highlighted by 17 Kindle customers
  • plebian hands on a towel. In the background,
    Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers
  • There were some very odd religions back in the hills—snake handlers and dowsers and Sethians.
    Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers
Show all 15 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Mountains of West Virginia
  • West Virginia: Wakefield, WV. The town was found by and named after the Wakefield family. Near the Croak River.
  • Virginia: Ellen is the pastor at a church in Virginia.
  • Williamsport, PA: Several characters go to Williamsport looking for information.
  • O'Connor home: An old Federal-style farmhouse on the edge of town, on a hill. In a constant state of restoration.
  • Wakefield home in Wakefield, W. Virginia: Large brown-shingled Victorian with a circular drive and stone steps. This is where the Wakefield daughters came to be with their mother, each going to their old room.
  • Tom's cell: Six by eight, no window, just a slab concrete wall. There was a padlock around a substantial chain holding the cell door shut. Outside the bars there was a large room, empty except for a boiler or furnace. A boy scout sleeping bag was tossed onto the steel cot, but there was no pillow. A steel sind and toilet were bolted into the corner.
  • Mitch Price's cabin in the mountains: An old cabin in a forest clearing, but with new windows. Neat piles of wood were scattered about in the long grass. To the left of the house was a lean-to with a half-dozen carved wooden statues covered in clear plastic underneath it. The statues were all variations of Blessed Virgin. Inside, the workroom had once been a bedroom; there was a neatly-made cot pushed against the wall, and an oak table.

First Sentence edit see section history

I couldn't help but think of him as "the love child."

Table of Contents edit see section history

Ellen - Chapters 1 to 7
Laura - Chapters 8 to 15
Tom - Chapters 16 to 20
Theresa - Chapters 21 to 26
Jackson - Chapters 27 to 32

For Readers' Groups - Discussion Questions
About Alicia Rasley

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Alicia Rasley (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Country: USA
Publication Date: Nov-2010
ISBN: 978-1611940008
Page Count: 318

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