Mary Beth Keane on Love and Forgiveness in Whale Harbor

New York Times bestselling author Mary Beth Keane talks with Zibby Owens about her new book, this month’s GMA Book Club pick Whale Harbor, an epic, multigenerational story about 11 brothers in Ireland in 1963 who become scattered after their mother’s death. The author of Ask Again, Yes shares how her new book focuses on “love and forgiveness” and especially “forgiveness of one’s self.”

Mary Beth explains how the story is based on two events from her own family: the death of her father’s mother and the disappearance of one of her father’s brothers. She touches upon how Whale Harbor is just one take on the family’s story and how there can be multiple versions of the same event, just as people show grief in different ways.

In addition to chatting about the critically-acclaimed new story, Mary Beth also talks about “feeling like an alien” as a student at Barnard College and her time teaching the next generation of writers at her alma mater.

Learn more about Mary Beth Keane here and follow her on Instagram at @marybethkeane. You can purchase Whale Harbor here.

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

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