Three decades later her daughter Felicity leaves their life behind for Montreal, glad to flee the unknowns that have plagued her so far. But her personal battles are nothing compared to the unrest here, where a commune in rural Quebec and a child of her own might be her saviours.
The child grows up to be Pidge, a woman surprised to find that she will inherit her grandmother's Scottish house, yet curious about the ingredients that make up a family's history. Amidst the flying feathers of the wild goose that stalks the kitchen, Pidge will find unexpected answers to the questions that have beset these women through the years.
The Heart Beats in Secret is a powerful story of three women and the secrets and bonds that have defined them. It explores the wilderness of the heart, the secrets concealed with every beat and the many ways it is possible to be a mother.
Katie Munnik is a Canadian writer living in Cardiff. Her collection of short fiction, The Pieces We Keep was published by Wild Goose Publications and her prose, poetry, and creative non-fiction have appeared in several magazines and anthologies, including The Cardiff Review, The Dangerous Women Project, Echoes of the City, and Geez Magazine. She is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers in Toronto, Canada. The Heart Beats in Secret is her first novel.