The Hummingbird - Softcover

Kiernan, Stephen P.

4.1

2,917 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1443438863 ISBN 13: 9781443438865

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2015

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From the author of the acclaimed debut novel The Curiosity comes an emotionally resonant tale about a woman who must take care of two wounded men―one, her soldier-husband, just home from the war in Iraq; the other, a dying World War II scholar-historian who harbours a long-buried secret. At once a tantalizing wartime mystery and a moving tale of living, loving and dying, The Hummingbird is the thrilling, heart-wrenching new adventure from Stephen P. Kiernan.

Deborah Porter is a registered nurse and hospice worker, the caregiver of last resort for the cantankerous Barcley Reed, a dying history professor who lives on Oregon’s picturesque Lake Oswego. Deborah is surprised to find that her newest charge’s books have all been removed from the library at Portland State University, where he taught for many years. When she asks him why, he reveals that his career was derailed by a long-ago academic scandal but is reluctant to say more. Deborah herself is in a vulnerable place: her husband, Michael, a soldier just back from his third tour of duty in Iraq, has returned home a changed man. For the first time, Deborah, a woman whose life mission is to minister to those who are hurting, is at a loss to help the person who is most precious to her.

When Reed learns of Deborah's despair, he makes a decision to reveal to her the provocative historical research at the root of his professional downfall―the little-known story of a Japanese air attack on the US mainland during the Second World War and its aftermath. For, the professor feels, somewhere in that story lies a lesson that can help Deborah save her marriage. It might be “a work of genius, a story that the world must be told,” he tells her, or “the bizarre product of an old man’s deluded fictions.” His only condition: she must tell him, at the story’s conclusion, whether or not she believes it is true. What follows is a grand adventure that asks “what if?” and that may have the power to heal lives.

PRAISE FOR THE CURIOSITY

"One of the most assured debuts in years, a book that will stop your heart and start it again.” ―JUSTIN CRONIN, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE PASSAGE

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From the Back Cover:

Deborah Birch is a seasoned hospice nurse who never gives up—not with her patients, not in her life. But her skills and experience are fully tested by the condition her husband, Michael, is in when he returns from his third deployment to Iraq. Tormented by nightmares, anxiety, and rage, Michael has become cold and withdrawn. Still grateful that he is home at last, Deborah is determined to heal him and restore their loving, passionate marriage.

But Michael is not her only challenge. Deborah's primary patient is Barclay Reed, a retired history professor and fierce curmudgeon. An expert on the Pacific Theater of World War II, Barclay is suffering from terminal kidney cancer and haunted by ghosts from his past, including the academic scandal that ended his career.

Barclay's last wish is for Deborah to read to him from his final and unfinished book—a little-known story from World War II that may hold the key to helping Michael conquer his demons. Together, nurse, patient, and soldier embark on an unforgettable emotional journey that transforms them all, offering astonishing insights into life and death, suffering and finding peace.

Told with piercing empathy and heartbreaking realism, The Hummingbird is a masterful story of marital commitment, service to country, the battles we fight for those we love, learning to let go, and finding absolution through wisdom and acceptance.

About the Author:

STEPHEN P. KIERNAN’s widely praised debut novel, The Curiosity, was published in 2013 and is in development at Twentieth Century Fox for film adaptation. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop fiction MFA program and holds an MA from Johns Hopkins University. In his twenty-five years as a journalist, he has won more than forty awards. A popular public speaker, he is the author of the non-fiction books Last Rights and Authentic Patriotism.

Web: stephenpkiernan.com

Facebook: Stephen Kiernan

Twitter: @StephenPKiernan

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