The Songs We Never Finished

The Songs We Never Finished
A Novel by Laura Carpenter

Some stories don’t end. They echo through generations.

Mara O’Connell has always feared silence more than sorrow. Raised in a home where music was memory and grief was inherited like bone structure, she thought she knew how to carry pain—until the day she lost her mother, her voice, and her way forward.

Now, Mara stands in the middle of her childhood home with a daughter who won’t speak, a marriage unraveling under the weight of unsaid things, and a legacy of loss that stretches far beyond her understanding. But when she stumbles upon a box of unsent letters, cassette tapes, and unfinished song lyrics hidden beneath her late mother’s floorboards, Mara discovers a different kind of inheritance—one wrapped in secrets, sorrow, and a melody that refuses to fade.

As she begins decoding the fragmented lyrics and listening to the confessional tapes her mother never meant her to hear, Mara is pulled into the buried stories of three generations of women: a young mother silenced by shame in postwar Belfast, a girl who dreamed of escape through music, and a daughter who ran from love only to find herself trapped by it. What emerges is a devastatingly beautiful portrait of womanhood—its violence, its resilience, and its voice.

Each song is a breadcrumb. Each letter, a confession. Each silence, a choice.

From bestselling author Laura Carpenter comes a haunting, heart-shattering novel about the legacy of trauma, the ferocity of mothers, and the lies we inherit wrapped in lullabies. The Songs We Never Finished is a literary tapestry woven from grief and ghost notes, perfect for fans of Celeste Ng, Brit Bennett, Kristin Hannah, and Tara M. Stringfellow.

This is not just a story of what was lost.
It’s a love letter to what survived.

If you’ve ever grieved in silence, carried someone else’s secrets, or wondered if your story matters—this book is for you.

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Website: www.lauracarpenterbooks.com
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