Cover Image: My Heart Went Walking

My Heart Went Walking

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Una is a 16 year old girl who lives in Ireland. Her best friend is no other than a boy names Cullen. Cullen and Una have known each other for years, When both their parents decided it was a good idea for them to walk to school together for safety. They have been best friends since.

All was great until one night at a party where both Una and Cullen had attended. They both had a few to many and things went a little to far. Now, Uma Finds herself pregnant.

After discussing the pregnancy with her mother, who is not accepting of the situation. Una decided to leave home. But soon enough, Una thinks leaving home maybe wasn't the best idea and travels back home only to find Cullen looking sweet on her sister Ellie. How will Una handle this situation?

This was a good book. It really kept my interest and I enjoyed the story. The story was heartfelt and warming. some sadder moments but the book came together quite nice. I look forward to other new releases from Sally Hanan!

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The characters in this book were really interesting and so full of life. Ive never been to Ireland so it was nice reading about it and to be able to see myself there. I look forward to the next book.

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It has been a long time since I read a book which managed to touch my heart deeply and made me too emotional. My Heart Went Walking by Sally Hanan is her debut full-length novel, though she has written many flash stories and is even a winner of several contests for short stories. Having read though the book, I am not surprised she got publishers for this book as soon as she did.

This book is primarily about two sisters Una and Ellie and their love for the same boy Cullen. In a way, it's also a coming-of-age-story that has love, loss, pain and redemption thrown into the mix. The story is set in 1980s Ireland and opens with Una finding out she is pregnant with Cullen's child. It is my understanding that a woman falling out of wedlock was a taboo in the Ireland of those times and a source of great shame for the family. So, Una plans to leave her small town and go to Dublin so as not to bring shame to her family and also not to place, what she sees as undue burden on Cullen, and save him from future frustration and resentments.

We travel with her as she tries to cope with being alone and pregnant in an unknown land amongst unknown people; fortunately she meets new people and gets on with her new life. We also simultaneously see the progress of Eileen and Cullen's relationship in the two years since J has disappeared and that becomes the reason Una does not go back home. At this point, an unforeseen terrible thing occurs, forcing everyone to reevaluate their stand on things and put up a fight for Ellie. What happens further and how all the complications get resolved forms the rest of the story.

Getting into the characters, I truly connected with and related to Una. She, with all her good intentions and questionable actions, was vivid in front of the reader as a real person. Her dilemma with her situation, her palpable pain with her circumstances, her feelings about the various events of her life were drawn beautifully. Not to mention, the way the author has composed the characters of Ellie and Cullen. Both of them are likable and we just start rooting for good things to happen to all these people. The other characters, particularly that of the parents of the girls and Cullen, are the kind of people you have seen in your life. For all the mistakes they make, they are all good people with good intentions,

Ultimately, when faced with an impossible and complicated situation, every one of them dig deep and bring out the goodness within them. The ending of the story is a triumph of family and love which gives Una the redemption she is looking for. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read a book filled with beautiful human emotions and redemption.

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My Heart went walking is a story about how bad decisions can shape your life, and also those lives affected by you, for the good or bad, and, sometimes, it's impossible to undo those misunderstandings. Una discovers herself pregnant at the early age of 16 and as her mother tells her she will have to give the baby for adoption she leaves home and tells a big lie to the baby's father. Everything would be different if she had told him the truth, it would have saved her from a lot of trouble and both a lot of hurting. She eventually learns that family is really important and she starts to reapproach them. Will they accept her and her son? Will she be able to help them in their time of need? Will she be able to let go of old feelings and accept the love that is right in front of her? Will she learn that making decisions based on her instincts and feelings only without communicating with other people will only bring her more harm? A beautifully written story that shows that compassion and love for others is one of the most important feelings one human being can have and for which one must fight.
For those who enjoy reading romance, with fast-paced written stories, with great descriptions of people and places, this is a must-read!

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I seem to have a soft spot for Irish authors and can list off probably a dozen or more that have appealed to me over the years so I guess it's no surprise I thoroughly enjoyed Sally Hanan's debut novel <b>My Heart Went Walking</b>.  Though she lives in Texas now Sally grew up in Ireland and seems to have acquired the story telling gift of some of her compatriots.    Set in 1980's Donegal and Dublin with characters I liked though sometimes despaired over, a storyline I enjoyed even though I picked the major conflict very early on, and a denouement that worked well for me because I'm a sucker for hea type endings.   If you enjoy womens fiction with a focus on family and coming of age themes this is likely to be your cuppa tea too.

The protagonist is Una Gallagher and though the story is mostly from her perspective we also hear from Cullen her "best friend", and Ellie one of Una's sisters.   As the story opens, sixteen year old Una has just fessed up to her Mam that she's pregnant.   Unsurprisingly the news didn't go down well and the next morning Una receives a note from her mother telling her she must give the child up for adoption.     Right then we get a sense of the strength of this young girl as she packs a bag and leaves all she loves and holds precious - her family, her best friend Cullen.      We also find out real quick that she is a kind and thoughtful girl.  Vowing not to tell the father as she doesn't want to ruin anyone elses life, and not wanting to bring shame on herself or her parents she decides she must stay away.   With little-to-no money and nobody to turn to it's tough surviving those first weeks.   With the help of some incredibly supportive and generous strangers Una finds her place and begins to make a new life for herself and her son but throughout it all she is desperately homesick and misses her one true love.  

Readers get to feel the strength of our young characters emotions and we get to see how Una's well intentioned actions have backfired.    Not only that but we see how desperately sorry she is at having thrown away her chance of happiness, and how Una's angst prevents her from moving on and forming any new relationship.    Though Una has made sure her family know she's okay and safe, her communications have all been one sided and the family have no way of contacting her.   This is bad enough until a family emergency, one of life or death proportions, arises. It's a story of learning to accept help, of forgiving ones self, and others, of learning to live life and to make the best of every situation.  As it says on the cover its a story of love, loss and redemption.

I've steered away from the plot but it was a story that tugged at the heart strings in so many ways and yet managed to maje me smile.    I feel sure this will not be the last we see of Sally Hanan's writing.    My thanks to her for the offer of a the ARC, thanks also to Fire Drinkers Publishing and Netgalley.

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A beautifully written book! Great characters, great setting, great story. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

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This book was exactly what I needed; sometimes reading thriller after thriller leaves you yearning for something else. The story of sisters Una and Ellie, both falling in love with Cullen, has a lot more to it than just that. It has an unmistakable 'Irish' feeling to it, with the big gap between growing up in a small rural town and having to start a new life in the 'big city', without being able to fall back on family or friends.
Una is wise beyond her years, and yet so young. She, her sister Ellie and Cullen have to grow up fast as it turns out that the choices they make are not always the best ones... until it turns out that maybe there are different choices to make, not only for themselves but also for their loved ones.
I really, really enjoyed this beautifully written book and the only small comment I have is that I found that part of the ending was a bit rushed and improbable.

Thanks to Netgalley and Fire Drinkers Publishing for this review copy.

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Hanan's 1980s Irish coming-of-age story is full of angst, secrets, life-and-death danger, youthful determination--and the feeling that everything is going to work out in the end.

You can't keep a secret in this town unless you leave with it.

Young Una has only ever loved one man, her best friend Cullen. But now Una has abruptly left town, left her family, left Cullen--she's left behind everything she knows in a desperate attempt to make things right by keeping her mysterious suffering to herself.

She questions whether she's doing the right thing, meanwhile various complications--including the discovery of Cullen's new affection for her sister Ellie--keep her out of touch and determined to stand on her own two feet, no matter how difficult it is.

But when tragedy looms for Ellie, Una and the boy who broke each other's hearts must try to come back together and save Ellie somehow.

Set in 1980s Ireland between Donegal and Dublin, My Heart Went Walking follows the sisters and Cullen as they try to find redemption, to forgive, and to move forward into their futures with hope.

I loved the details of daily Irish life and the heartwarming found-family element. Hanan explores the fascinating, infuriating condemnation surrounding--and delicate navigation of the challenges of--teen pregnancy in that time and place.

For much of the book I wasn't quite clear on the status of the characters' evolving romantic loyalties and preferences. Did Una and Cullen still love each other, or was their connection naive and without basis beyond friendship? Were their new partners better fits, as they seemed? We didn't get to see Una and Cullen together for much of the book, so it was impossible to evaluate the strength of their romantic connection for ourselves, and this felt unsatisfying.

There's a primary setup of "I can't tell you this enormous, life-changing fact, so I'll run away, leaving you wondering" that is essential to the story but can feel frustrating. I questioned how both Cullen and Ellie conveniently didn't ponder the likely scenario or ask more questions as soon as doing so was possible--questions that would have immediately revealed the truth of Una's situation. In the middle of the book especially I found myself wanting more specifics than summary. (I also had a few nitpicky questions, such as: why would Ellie need an explanation of a Claddagh ring? This brief exposition seemed clearly to be present for the reader's illumination.)

But I absolutely loved how Una was a strong, determined, gritty young woman in the face of so many enormous challenges. The found-family element of My Heart Went Walking was heartwarming and a favorite aspect of mine.

In My Heart Went Walking, Una, Ellie, and Cullen cope with grave situations and life-and-death struggles that threaten to tear them apart. Some of the book's resolutions feel conveniently clean, but the tone of Hanan's book is such that it feels evident that the reader won't be left unsatisfied or facing loose ends at the end, and I ultimately liked having everything wrapped up with a bow at the conclusion of Hanan's story.

My Heart Went Walking was published February 5. I received a prepublication digital edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Fire Drinkers Publishing.

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We start in Donegal 1983 where Una finds herself pregnant. She decides to tell her mother but doesn’t get the response sh thought she would so makes the decision to start walking! Una finds herself sleeping rough and is fortunate to get some help from the vicar who introduces her to a lovely couple Des and Catherine. The three of them get along well and over time Una gradually trusts Catherine with the facts of how she ended up there.
Una discovers that her sister Ellie is quite Ill and needs her. The big problem, unknown to Ellie is that they both love the same man.

I thought it an enjoyable read, if a bit slow to get going. Recommend it.

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I loved this heartwarming story about sisters, true love, strength, hope, tragedy. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my review.

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Una Gallagher lives in Donegal, Ireland, with her parents and younger siblings. Una shares a room with her sister Ellie and her best friends at high school are Tanya and Cullen. Growing up in a small village, everyone knows your business, and it’s hard to keep anything a secret. After one youthful night of drunken passion, and Una’s pregnant and Cullen’s the father.

Una’s mum’s not very happy with her daughter, she wants to send her to stay with the nuns, and put her baby up for adoption. Una wants to keep her baby, despite not have a lot of money and a proper plan, and she runs away to Dublin. By leaving home in such a rush you do question Una’s decision making and of course she’s very young and scared. Una turns to the Protestant church for help, father John finds a couple Des and Catherine who offer her a place to stay. Una misses her family, but she feels like she can’t return home due to her pregnancy and her mother’s beliefs about unwed mothers. I was a teenager myself in the 1980’s, people did think very differently than about single mothers and unplanned pregnancies, and fortunately times have changed.

Ellie’s now sixteen and dating Cullen and Una discovers her sister is sick with Leukemia. Una loves Ellie, she wants to help her beat the terrible disease, and Una’s shocked when she visits Ellie the first time in hospital. Una made a mistake, she’s forced to grow up very quickly, accept the consequences of her actions, and she’s a wonderful mother and helps Ellie in her time of need.

I received a copy of My Heart Went Walking from NetGalley and Fire Drinkers Publishing in exchange for an honest review, the stories about family ties and the bond between sisters, second chances, and the past doesn’t define a teenage girls future and her being able to move forward. A great debut novel by author Sally Hanan, and I loved the references to 80’s music, fashion and makeup trends, and three and a half stars from me.

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My Heart Went Walking
by: Sally Hanan
Fire Drinkers Publishing

With a richly crafted narrative and captivating Irish setting, Hanan's writing won't let go of your heart for the entirety of this book. 1980s Donegal and Dublin provide the atmospheric locale for the immersive story of two sisters and the young man they both loved.
Unexpected life circumstances forced Una to make decisions at the young age of sixteen that would affect both her future and those of her sister Ellie and friend Cullen. Hanan gives us the diverse yet intertwining perspectives of all three main characters, allowing readers to feel their uncertainty and distress as events unfolded. Each character showed determination, courage, and purpose as they grew and changed in the progression of their lives and relationships.
Family bonds, cultural expectations, and community relations supplement and deepen the central story of Una, Ellie, and Cullen. This is a beautifully perceptive novel that stirred my emotions and made me think about choice, regret, acceptance, and ultimately, hope. The directions that our lives take can change in an instant, taking us to the most unexpected places in our search for truth, healing, and resolve.
Thank you to Net Galley and Fire Drinkers Publishing for the advance readers copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
 #Irishfiction #NetGalley

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In a Nutshell: A debut Irish fiction with teenage characters dealing with not-so-teenaged issues. The book is engrossing, with just a little more fine-tuning required to make it stand out.

Story:
1983, Donegal, Ireland. Seventeen year old Una Gallagher discovers that she is pregnant after a drunken post-party romp with her best friend Cullen. When her mother threatens to send her away to the nuns, Una realises that the only way to keep her baby safe is to run away from home. Her younger sister Ellie is the most heartbroken at her sister’s unexplained disappearance. Cullen too is devastated as he doesn’t know the reason behind Una’s decision. Ellie and Cullen come close to each other in their sorrow. But soon an event occurs which threatens their happiness. Will the three youngsters be able to get their life back on track?
The story comes to us in the first person perspectives of Una, Ellie and Cullen.

Where the book worked for me:
❤ The book begins with a pronunciation guide of the Irish names and locations, and a glossary of the local lingo used. A big thank you to the author for this.

❤ The author makes good use of Irish slang in the story, lending the characters an authentic sound.

❤ The dialogues are where the author truly shines. The three character perspectives are teenagers, and every line of theirs is exactly as someone of their age would speak. It was one of the most natural-sounding dialogue writing I’ve seen in a novel in a long time.

❤ There are some really beautiful lines in the novel. One of my favourites was: “Gossip is like petrol in this town; it runs a lot of motors, starts a lot of fires.”

❤ I loved the way Ellie’s and Cullen’s characters were written. Because they were so sincere and sweet in their distinct ways, I could connect to both of them easily.

❤ There are frequent mini time jumps and while this was a risky approach to follow, I liked how they worked in this story.

Where the book could have worked better for me:
💔 The plot is a bit too meandering at times because of its conversational casual approach.

💔 While the dialogues feel quite genuinely Irish, the story itself doesn’t make much use of the setting. Except for a mention of Donegal and Dublin and some other places, there is nothing to make the locale feel Irish. It could have taken place anywhere.

💔 There are some plot points that weren’t quite convincing to me. This is mainly in Una’s perspective, where there were a few logical jumps, and too many convenient turns in the events to take the story ahead smoothly.

💔 I didn’t like Una. Though her perspective should have kept me the most emotionally involved, I found myself tuning out of her narration because she seemed too shortsighted and self-oriented and even irriating at times. As one-third of the book roughly is about her, my enjoyment of it slipped downwards.

💔 The first person voices are a bit confusing because though there’s no overlap in the nature of the characters (Una is courageous but judgemental; Cullen is pragmatic and sad, Ellie is idealistic and cheerful), the writing misses out on their individuality and makes them sound very similar in their thoughts. So it's easy to get confused about which character is speaking.

Overall, this was a very good debut novel that brings to life the story of three teenagers caught in unusual circumstances. A nice, emotional and uplifting read.

3.5 stars from me, rounding up to 4.

My thanks to Fire Drinkers Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of “My Heart Went Walking”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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This story broke my heart. Our main character, Una leaves home in the opening pages of the book after a fight with her mother after telling her she's pregnant. She also opts not to tell the father of the baby because she doesn't want to limit his life choices. Hence, she takes it all upon herself and leaves town intent on raising the baby on her own.

The book tells about who she meets along the way in Dublin that help her and basically take her in. A second family in a way. It also tells the story of the people left behind and how their lives move forward too. Even though time passes, Una never really gets over the baby's father. There are several plot lines that gradually weave together again towards the second half of the book.

I was frustrated with some of the character's actions, but it was still a good book. I enjoyed the writing style of the area as it was set in Ireland,

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

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I really enjoyed this story set in Ireland about Una, her sister Ellie, and Cullen the boy they both love. That set up may sound cliche' but it's the love of family that permeates the novel and sets it apart. Each individual is young, flawed, and also admirable. You do see the story twist coming but that doesn't make it less interesting or heartfelt. All in all a very readable story of some characters I enjoyed visiting.

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This book is a fabulous read, the connections that unite family and friends are explored as the story unfolds, the plot is sure to touch your heart.
I enjoyed the method of writing, the exploration of emotions that bounce off the pages and the development of the main characters, Una and her sister Ellie.
Choices and adult decisions are made in this wonderful debut novel, consequences faced along with romance, friendships, discovery and new beginnings.
This wonderful journey that we travel on with Una and Ellie is definitely a must read, I’m keen to read more from this author.

Thanks to the publisher, NetGalley and the very talented Sally Hanan for the opportunity to read this wonderful book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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My Heart Went Walking follows the story of Una, who becomes pregnant and runs away from her family and friends, and we experience all of the emotions and fallout from her decisions. Set in Ireland, the story is reminiscent of Maeve Binchy books. Family, friends, emotions, and connections are at the heart of this charming tale. I read it in one sitting!

Thank you to Fire Drinkers Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

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My Heart Went Walking is a compelling and poignant novel about the choices people make, and the far-reaching impact those choices make for so many others. Set in Ireland in the 1980’s, it is the story of Una, her best friend Cullen, and her sister Ellie. The lyrical writing and twisting emotions are evocative of the work of Maeve Binchy, and debut author has given us a warm cast of characters and a story that is captivating. There are secrets, there is heartache, but there is also love, friendship, and family to provide hope for the wonderful people who live on the pages of this book.

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Sixteen year old Una Gallagher admits to her Mam that she’s pregnant. In her shock her mother tells her that she’ll have the babe and it’ll be given to the nuns and put up for adoption. Una hears the news and runs away to Dublin, desperate to keep her baby. The story follows Una, her best friend Cullen & her sister as they try to find her.

I absolutely loved this story! Una is such an authentic & perfectly flawed character. Her journey of the heart, to become a mother and to ultimately do the right thing gripped me from the beginning and held me close throughout. The book is set in 1980’s Ireland, from small town Donegal to Dublin.

This is Sally Hannan’s debut novel release and I’m looking forward to reading more from her! Thank you @netgalley and Fire Drinkers Publishing for the advance copy. Book is released on February 5th.

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Una Gallagher, a 16-year-old living in Donegal, a small Irish village, confesses to her mother that she's pregnant. Rather than give her baby to the nuns for adoption as her mother insists, she lies to her friend Cullen about who is the baby's father and runs away to Dublin.

I really enjoyed this book and found the characters to be very authentic. The story is told from the POVs of Una, her younger sister Ellie, and Cullen, Una's childhood best friend. The book was well written and very easy to read. The ending was really of the too good to be true class but it was heart-warming. I feel like Sally Hanan is extremely proud of this book and she has every right to be. I'll definitely be on the look-out for whatever she does next. 3.5 rounded up to 4 Stars.

The author has provided a glossary of Irish terms and English equivalents which is very helpful.

My thanks to Netgalley, Fire Drinkers Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Publication Date: February 5, 2022

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