The Irish Healer

A Novel

By: Nancy Herriman

Narrated by: Amanda McKnight

1830s London is rich with promise ... and fraught with peril. Rachel Dunne and James Edmunds are about to discover that love is too.

Rachel Dunne has always been a healer ... until she’s accused of causing the death of a child under her care. Acquitted but shunned, she flees Ireland in search of a new life, convinced that she’ll be fine so long as no one in London learns of her disgrace - or forces her to ever sit at another sickbed.

Physician James Edmunds has endured the loss of too many patients - the death of his wife the greatest blow of all. Deep in his grief, and no longer certain that God can be trusted, he decides the time has come to abandon his practice and run his family’s small farm - alone.

But when he’s drawn to the intriguing Irish woman who has recently joined his household, he begins to reconsider his well-laid plans. Then cholera sweeps through London, and the life of James’s young daughter hangs in the balance.

Can Rachel and James overcome their innermost fears and regain their faith? Or is it too late for trust and love to heal their hearts?

©2009 Jane Peart (P)2012 Oasis

should have a Christian/Religion tag

What did you like best about The Irish Healer? What did you like least?

Beautiful prose, dialogue and plot from the writer until character challenges and growth are replaced by the christian god who solves all. Characters don't call upon their own inner strength to overcome mountains and face responsibility. They remain weak and pray to their god to fix it all. What a disappointing end to a wonderful story. Prosletyzing at the expense of character development is a huge disappointment. BUT christians will love it, I'm sure.Is it possible for audible to put a religious tag on appropriate books please so that readers can make a knowing choice.

Would you recommend The Irish Healer to your friends? Why or why not?

No - they feel as I do about prosletyzing. We all find no challenge in prayer and god fixes all. We believe the characters have to fix themselves.

What about Amanda McKnight’s performance did you like?

Oh - that was perfect! Truly outstanding. I do hope that I will find her reading other books. Her voice remained at the same volume whilst the tone, inflections and pitch altered and that maintained an interest and awareness of the population within the story. There wasn't a single moment that I was jarred out of the story by this reader.

Could you see The Irish Healer being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes. The writing is excellent and gives clear snapshots of locations and people.

Any additional comments?

Please make preachy books identifiable. A book I loved, I couldn't finish because the characters were exactly the same at the end as they were at the beginning. Their only difference is that they found a god that enabled them to take no responsibility for anything that had come before or since. When a character is relieved of taking responsibility, that character doesn't grow. It achieves nothing.

Old fashion love story

Where does The Irish Healer rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

That is hard to say because I listen to many genre but for this genre I would rate it 2nd after The Wedding Dress along with the Help

What other book might you compare The Irish Healer to and why?

The Wedding Dress, The Help, The Next Always, The Braking Ridge Count

Have you listened to any of Amanda McKnight’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, very good

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Old Fashion Live Story

Great Story!

This is a very touching story! It is a deeply rich story and heartbreaking as well.

Very enjoyable and encouraging.

Loved this story. It was beautifully unfolded by the author. So much anticipation about what would happen next. Great narrator as well.

loved it

I loved it. it definitely wasn't what I was expecting it to turn out to be.