In 1913, a powerful and dangerous storm descends on the Great Lakes โ and three sisters find their lives transformed amid the chaos in this "superb, character-driven adventure" (Publishers Weekly) inspired by true events!
Great Lakes galley cook Sunny Colvin has her hands full feeding a freighter crew seven days a week, nine months a year. She also has a dreamโto open a restaurant back homeโbut knows she'd never convince her husband, the steward, to leave the seafaring life he loves.
In Sunny's Lake Huron hometown, her sister, Agnes Inby, mourns her husband, a U.S. Life-Saving Serviceman who died in an accident she believes she could have prevented. Burdened with regret and longing for more than her job at the dry goods store, she looks for comfort in a secret infatuation.
Two hundred miles away in Cleveland, the youngest sister, Cordelia Blythe, has pinned her hopes for adventure on her marriage to a lake freighter captain. Finding herself alone and restless in her new town, she joins him on the season's last trip up the lakes.
On November 8, 1913, a deadly storm descends on the Great Lakes, bringing hurricane-force winds, whiteout blizzard conditions, and mountainous waves that last for days. Amidst the chaos all three women are offered a glimpse of the clarity they seek, if only they dare to perceive it.
Praise for Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury:
"Bryan writes with vigor and verve... Readers will eagerly follow Bryan through the rough and thrilling waters." โPublishers Weekly
"Bryan illustrates the interior lives of early 20th-century Great Lakes women as adeptly as she describes a ship's layout and the visceral experience of this destructive storm." โHistorical Novels Review**, EDITORS' CHOICE**
"Bryan's debut is a highly assured and gripping novel." โBlueInk Review, STARRED
"Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury is a riveting period piece." โMidwest Book Review
"This is the kind of book that reminds you why you love reading... The pure devastation, and the fear, have been depicted with incredible skill, and I was almost certain I was living the events alongside the characters... Not many novels have left me reeling quite so much as this one did." โCandlelight Reading
"This novel goes on a small shelf containing my all-time favorite books." โMichigan in Books
"The reader will feel the frigid water... and the fearsome pitching of the freighters in the raging storms as the inches-thick ice accumulates on the decks." โAkron Beacon Journal
"Absolutely loved this Great Lakes tale ... Historical fiction fans, this is not a book to miss." โMolly Gartland, author of The Girl from the Hermitage