Book Description
A propulsive and haunting debut novel that examines the deep impacts of first love, faith, violence, and loss on a young girl who discovers she has the power to heal others through touch
Set in the mountains of Northern California and the rural communities hidden in the Sacramento Delta, The Ones Who Loved You is a love story about a former faith healer and a war veteran who must escape their pasts to build a future together.
As a young woman, Dylan lays hands on the sick while her mother collects cash for the privilege of her daughter’s healing touch. At twenty-two, she finds her dreams of going to medical school receding when a toxic relationship culminates in several terrifying weeks held captive by her ex-boyfriend’s associate. After a daring escape, she reunites with her best childhood friend and first love, Jordan, who has returned shell-shocked from war. The chance to make a new start with Jordan as the caretakers of a historical landmark home in the mountain town of Brookside seems ideal for them both as they struggle to overcome their violent pasts. Yet as they forge a community among veterans and misfits, they attract the ire of a local pastor who will do whatever it takes to protect his flock from the influence of the female stranger some are claiming has the power to heal by touch.
Praise For This Book
"Maureen O'Leary is a stellar new voice." —Priya Sharma, World Fantasy Award Winner, author of All the Fabulous Beasts, Ormeshadow, and Pomegranates“Maureen O’Leary’s The Ones Who Loved You hums with an incantational power, drawing you into a dark, lyrical, ferocious tale of love and violence, the spiky hold that our tormentors have over us and the burning resilience of found families. A stunning debut.” —Megan Abbott, author of El Dorado Drive
"Propulsive from the first sentence, Maureen O’Leary’s The Ones Who Loved You takes the reader on a life’s journey of terror, pain, strength, and redemption. Readers may well be reminded of Kawai Strong Washburn’s Sharks in the Time of Saviors, but O’Leary’s novel is its own fierce creature. Dylan and Jordan will haunt you long afterwards." —Christian Kiefer, author of The Heart of It All
“The Ones Who Loved You is an ode to the liberation of the female body. Maureen O’Leary writes with fire and ferocity. This is a writer I’m watching with great excitement and elation. Her words do powerful work.” —Nayomi Munaweera, author of What Lies Between Us
“The Ones Who Loved You does the seemingly impossible: simultaneously thrill, scare, haunt—and cheer. A complex story of trauma, vengeance, intrigue, and bare-knuckled survival, it is, at its core, a bracing meditation on the resilience of human attachments, especially the bonds between women. I couldn't put it down.” —Naomi J. Williams, author of Landfalls
“Dylan is an absolutely original American heroine. Her story, told in gorgeous prose, has everything: love, longing, faith, ambition, violence, and tenderness forged in the wild, unpredictable world of California. The Ones Who Loved You is an unforgettable and stunning novel.” —Karen E. Bender, author of The Words of Dr. L
