When Maggie Bryan works up the nerve to tell her parents she’s pregnant, they immediately disown her. Later that night, her boyfriend is killed. In desperation, she turns to her brother, Sam. Against his wife’s wishes, Sam brings Maggie to his home in rural Pennsylvania.
While Maggie awaits the birth of her child and navigates the tension in her new home, she decides to finish high school. There, she meets Anne Phillips, a volunteer educator and full-time architect. Over time, Maggie becomes drawn to Anne in ways she doesn’t understand, but she knows enough to keep her feelings hidden.
After a devastating loss, Maggie tries to move on, but secrets and betrayals keep her from living her fullest life. Beginning in the late 1940s and spanning decades, My Secret to Keep portrays a woman at war with society, her family, and herself.
Genre: Historical
While Maggie awaits the birth of her child and navigates the tension in her new home, she decides to finish high school. There, she meets Anne Phillips, a volunteer educator and full-time architect. Over time, Maggie becomes drawn to Anne in ways she doesn’t understand, but she knows enough to keep her feelings hidden.
After a devastating loss, Maggie tries to move on, but secrets and betrayals keep her from living her fullest life. Beginning in the late 1940s and spanning decades, My Secret to Keep portrays a woman at war with society, her family, and herself.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"Exceptionally well-written, gut-wrenching, and inspiring, My Secret To Keep is a stunning story of a woman longing to love and be loved. Barbara Conrey has created an immensely compelling, powerful protagonist in Maggie, who struggles to live the life she deserves amidst the cruel condemnation of a society in which she desperately wants to be accepted. With masterfully building tension, perfectly timed surprises, and remarkable depth, this novel is now woven into the fabric of my soul and will touch my heart forever." - Samantha M Bailey
"In My Secret to Keep, Barbara Conrey mines the painful places where identity, family, love, secrets, prejudice, and hope intersect. Conrey has a gift for treating her characters - even the challenging ones - with compassion, underscoring the truth that we can never truly know another person's story. Sometimes it can take a lifetime to fully understand our own." - Julie Carrick Dalton
"There's nothing I love more than reading a new work by a wonderful author whose love for people shines through every word. My Secret to Keep is an extremely moving and heartfelt tale that again proves Conrey as a genuinely affecting voice in fiction." - Natalie Jenner
"In her gut-wrenching second novel, Barbara Conrey lays the heart of a woman bare on the page. Maggie Bryan must live the life she's given, not the life she expected, and through tragedy, betrayal, kindness, and discovery, she defines family, love, and herself. My Secret to Keep is a testament to the truth that every woman's story is unique, and every woman's story is worth telling." - Jennifer Klepper
"Both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, MY SECRET TO KEEP is a poignant and stunning tale of secrets, lies, and betrayal that examines the choices we make about family, friendship, and love. Told through a compelling narrative, Conrey's writing is stunning. Readers can't help but fall in love with Maggie and Anne. I was hooked from the first page." - Kerry Lonsdale
"Could the greatest secret of all be the one Maggie doesn't know? For decades, Maggie Bryan is engulfed by her secrets, separated from others by gossip and innuendo throughout her difficult life in the rigid small town where she first sought refuge as a broken and pregnant, unmarried teen. Which secrets can be told - and which buried forever? You will hold your breath as you read this heart-rending page-turner. Could the greatest secret of all be the one Maggie doesn't know? My Secret to Keep will remain on your mind long after you read it. Pick up this compelling story of love, loss, and love again by talented USA Today bestselling author Barbara Conrey. You won't want to put it down." - Marilyn Simon Rothstein
"Exquisite writing that goes directly to the heart of an emotionally complex story in need of telling." - Patricia Sands
"With vivid characters and a true-to-life storyline, Conrey's emotionally complex novel tugs at the heartstrings, ignighting thoughts about loss, love, family dynamics, cultural biases, and, more importantly, what secrets we tell and what secrets we keep. A truly remarkable, rivetng, and honestly beautiful read." - Samantha Vérant
"MY SECRET TO KEEP is a powerful story of courage and acceptance, an emotional journey through the life of Maggie Bryan, a strong but conflicted woman who, according to society, finds love in all the wrong places. Or does she?" - Barbara Claypole White
"In My Secret to Keep, Barbara Conrey mines the painful places where identity, family, love, secrets, prejudice, and hope intersect. Conrey has a gift for treating her characters - even the challenging ones - with compassion, underscoring the truth that we can never truly know another person's story. Sometimes it can take a lifetime to fully understand our own." - Julie Carrick Dalton
"There's nothing I love more than reading a new work by a wonderful author whose love for people shines through every word. My Secret to Keep is an extremely moving and heartfelt tale that again proves Conrey as a genuinely affecting voice in fiction." - Natalie Jenner
"In her gut-wrenching second novel, Barbara Conrey lays the heart of a woman bare on the page. Maggie Bryan must live the life she's given, not the life she expected, and through tragedy, betrayal, kindness, and discovery, she defines family, love, and herself. My Secret to Keep is a testament to the truth that every woman's story is unique, and every woman's story is worth telling." - Jennifer Klepper
"Both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, MY SECRET TO KEEP is a poignant and stunning tale of secrets, lies, and betrayal that examines the choices we make about family, friendship, and love. Told through a compelling narrative, Conrey's writing is stunning. Readers can't help but fall in love with Maggie and Anne. I was hooked from the first page." - Kerry Lonsdale
"Could the greatest secret of all be the one Maggie doesn't know? For decades, Maggie Bryan is engulfed by her secrets, separated from others by gossip and innuendo throughout her difficult life in the rigid small town where she first sought refuge as a broken and pregnant, unmarried teen. Which secrets can be told - and which buried forever? You will hold your breath as you read this heart-rending page-turner. Could the greatest secret of all be the one Maggie doesn't know? My Secret to Keep will remain on your mind long after you read it. Pick up this compelling story of love, loss, and love again by talented USA Today bestselling author Barbara Conrey. You won't want to put it down." - Marilyn Simon Rothstein
"Exquisite writing that goes directly to the heart of an emotionally complex story in need of telling." - Patricia Sands
"With vivid characters and a true-to-life storyline, Conrey's emotionally complex novel tugs at the heartstrings, ignighting thoughts about loss, love, family dynamics, cultural biases, and, more importantly, what secrets we tell and what secrets we keep. A truly remarkable, rivetng, and honestly beautiful read." - Samantha Vérant
"MY SECRET TO KEEP is a powerful story of courage and acceptance, an emotional journey through the life of Maggie Bryan, a strong but conflicted woman who, according to society, finds love in all the wrong places. Or does she?" - Barbara Claypole White
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