The Silver River

Sometimes starting over means facing the past. 

College professor Eileen Lenihan thought she had the perfect husband, the perfect children, the perfect life. When her husband, Martin, has an affair with her best friend, Eileen’s carefully constructed world shatters—along with her heart. But with both her parents gone, Martin and the children are all Eileen has. All she wants. So when Martin suggests they leave Brooklyn behind for a fresh start in his hometown of Devereaux Falls, Eileen agrees.

In a beautiful house overlooking the majestic Silver River, Eileen is determined to repair what has been broken and keep her family intact. But the past has a way of following you, even to the most remote places.

Next door, Martin’s Aunt Mimi is keeping a secret of her own—a secret she has carried for decades, and one that threatens to unravel far more than Eileen’s fragile new life. As the two women become drawn into each other’s lives, old wounds begin to surface, and Eileen must confront the questions she has been trying desperately to avoid: how much will she endure to hold her family together, and is it worth losing herself? 

Genre: Women’s Fiction / Family Drama
Setting: Upstate New York
Themes: Marriage, motherhood, family, grief, body image, starting over, and the secrets we keep from the people closest to us.

Available in paperback and ebook editions.

What is The Silver River about?
The Silver River follows Eileen Lenihan, a college professor who moves from Brooklyn to a small town in upstate New York in an attempt to save her troubled marriage and keep her family together.

What genre is The Silver River?
The Silver River is contemporary women’s fiction with elements of family drama, marriage fiction, and small-town fiction.

Who is Eileen Lenihan?
Eileen is a college professor, wife, and mother whose carefully constructed life begins to unravel after her marriage takes a difficult turn.

Where does The Silver River take place?
The novel is set primarily in Devereaux Falls, a small town in upstate New York, where Eileen and her family have moved for a fresh start.

Is The Silver River part of a series?
No. The Silver River is a standalone novel.

Is The Silver River a romance?
The novel centers on a troubled marriage and the complicated bonds of love and family. While relationships are central to the story, The Silver River is best described as women’s fiction and family drama rather than a traditional romance.

Is The Silver River a good choice for a book club?
Yes. The novel offers plenty to discuss, particularly questions about marriage, family loyalty, forgiveness, identity, and the choices we make when the life we built begins to change.

1. Eileen Lenihan has spent years building what she believes is a perfect family. How does her husband’s betrayal challenge her understanding of marriage, love, and her own identity?
2. Why does Eileen struggle to let go of her marriage, even when it brings her so much unhappiness? How do her past experiences and her desire to keep her family together influence her choices?
3. Mimi and Eileen are very different women, yet both are shaped by family obligations and painful secrets. In what ways are their lives more alike than they first appear?
4. How do the secrets characters keep affect their relationships? Can withholding the truth ever be an act of love, or does it inevitably cause harm?
5. How does the novel explore the complexities of motherhood? What sacrifices do the women make for their families, and are those sacrifices always justified?
6. How does moving to Devereaux Falls change Eileen’s perspective on her life and marriage? Does a fresh start offer the possibility of real change?
7. What does the Silver River symbolize in the novel? How does its significance connect to the characters’ struggles, memories, and hopes for the future?
8. The novel explores the tension between preserving a family and remaining true to oneself. At what point can holding a family together become a form of losing yourself?