Recommendations based on We Are Called to Riseby Laura McBride

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Cutting for Stone

    by Abraham Verghese
    A sweeping journey of two twin brothers and their search for identity, belonging and family.

    The story is told by the protagonist, Marion Stone. He and his conjoined twin Shiva are born at Mission Hospital (called "Missing" in accordance with the local pronunciation), Addis Ababa , in ... (Wikipedia)

  2. The Book of Life

    by Deborah Harkness
    A journey of magic and science to unlock the secrets of eternal life.

    The #1, New York Times, bestselling series finale and sequel to, A Discovery of Witches, and, Shadow of Night, Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Age of Miracles

    by Karen Thompson Walker
    An exploration of the effects of a global phenomenon on a young girl's life.

    NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY,, People ∙ O: The Oprah Magazine ∙ Financial Times ∙ Kansas City Star ∙ BookPage ∙ Kirkus Reviews ∙ Publishers Weekly ∙ Booklist, , , With a voice as ... (Barnes & Noble)

  4. Still Alice

    by Lisa Genova
    A woman's struggle to hold on to her identity in the face of a devastating diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

    Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Lonely Polygamist

    by Brady Udall
    An exploration of the difficulties of a man trying to balance the demands of four wives and 28 children.

    Beautifully written, keenly observed, and ultimately redemptive, The Lonely Polygamist is an unforgettable story of an American family—with its inevitable dysfunctionality, heartbreak, and ... (Goodreads)

  6. The House Girl

    by Tara Conklin
    A story of two women, a present-day lawyer and a 19th Century slave, and the search for justice in a complex world.

    A stunning debut novel of love, family, and justice that intertwines the stories of an escaped house slave in 1852 Virginia and ambitious young lawyer in contemporary New York Virginia, 1852. ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar

    by Robert Alexander
    A fictional retelling of the last days of the Romanovs, through the eyes of their kitchen boy.

    Drawing from decades of work, travel, and research in Russia, Robert Alexander re-creates the tragic, perennially fascinating story of the final days of Nicholas and Alexandra as seen through the ... (Goodreads)

  8. Cloudstreet

    by Tim Winton
    Two families share a house in Perth, Australia, and navigate their lives over two decades. A story of love, loss, and redemption.

    In 1943, precipitated by separate personal tragedies, two poor families, the Lambs and the Pickles, flee their rural homes to share a large house called Cloudstreet in Perth, Western Australia. , The ... (Wikipedia)

  9. A Christmas Memory

    by Truman Capote
    A nostalgic tale of childhood innocence, exploring the bittersweet joys of the holiday season.

    Narrated by an unnamed, seven-year-old boy who is referred to as "Buddy" by his older cousin, "A Christmas Memory" is about the narrator's relationship with his older, unnamed, female cousin, to whom ... (Wikipedia)

  10. Delicious!

    by Ruth Reichl
    A food critic's exploration of the culinary world, showcasing the beauty of gourmet food.

    In her bestselling memoirs Ruth Reichl has long illuminated the theme of how food defines us, and never more so than in her dazzling fiction debut about sisters, family ties, and a young woman who ... (Goodreads)

  11. Still Life

    by Louise Penny
    A murder investigation leads to the discovery of secrets surrounding a small Canadian town.

    Winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards., Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  12. All My Puny Sorrows

    by Miriam Toews
    A heart-wrenching story of two sisters as one battles depression and the other struggles to keep her alive.

    The novel recounts the tumultuous relationship of the Von Riesen sisters, Elfrieda and Yolandi, the only children of an intellectual, free-spirited family from a conservative Mennonite community. ... (Wikipedia)

  13. The Pearl That Broke Its Shell

    by Nadia Hashimi
    A young Afghan girl's struggle to break free from oppressive traditions and find her own path.

    Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel, The Pearl that Broke Its Shell is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural ... (Goodreads)

  14. The Light Between Oceans

    by M.L. Stedman
    A lighthouse keeper and his wife make a heartbreaking decision that has lifelong repercussions.

    Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found, here, Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Silver Star

    by Jeannette Walls
    Two sisters embark on an epic journey across the U.S. in search of their long-lost mother.

    It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to ... (Goodreads)

  16. An Untamed State

    by Roxane Gay
    A woman's fight against her captors, as she struggles to survive the horrors of captivity.

    Mireille Duval Jameson is born and raised in the United States, her parents are from Haitian descent. Her parents move back to Haiti. While vacationing at her parents' house with her husband and ... (Wikipedia)

  17. And the Mountains Echoed

    by Khaled Hosseini
    Interconnected stories of family and love, tracing the consequences of decisions made throughout life.

    The novel opens in the year 1952. Saboor, an impoverished farmer from the fictional village of Shadbagh, decides to sell his three-year-old daughter Pari to a wealthy, childless couple in Kabul. ... (Wikipedia)

  18. A Discovery of Witches

    by Deborah Harkness
    An enchanted journey of forbidden love, as a witch and a vampire search for an ancient magical book.

    Book one of the, New York Times,-bestselling All Souls trilogy—"a wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of, Harry Potter, and, Twilight,” (,People,). Look for the hit TV series ... (Barnes & Noble)

  19. This is Where I Leave You

    by Jonathan Tropper
    A family comes together during a week of sitting shiva, rediscovering the joys of being a family.

    A riotously funny, emotionally raw New York Times bestselling novel about love, marriage, divorce, family, and the ties that bind—whether we like it or not. The death of Judd Foxman’s father marks ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Long Way Home

    by Louise Penny
    Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines to solve a murder and confront his past.

    Happily retired in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec, has found a peace he’d only imagined possible. On warm summer mornings he ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Art of Racing in the Rain

    by Garth Stein
    An uplifting story of a race car driver and the bond between humans and animals.

    Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by ... (Goodreads)

  22. A Trick of the Light

    by Louise Penny
    A murder mystery set in a small Quebec village, as a young detective uncovers secrets of the past.

    "Hearts are broken," Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. "Sweet relationships are dead." But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow's garden ... (Goodreads)

  23. Euphoria

    by Lily King
    Three anthropologists in the 1930s study a tribe in New Guinea, leading to a complex love triangle and ethical dilemmas.

    A New York Times Bestseller,Winner of the 2014 Kirkus Prize,Winner of the 2014 New England Book Award for Fiction,A Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award,A Best Book of the Year for:,, ... (Barnes & Noble)

  24. The Lacuna

    by Barbara Kingsolver
    Exploring the ties between art, politics and identity in tumultuous 1930s Mexico.

    The novel tells the story of Harrison William Shepherd beginning with his childhood in Mexico during the 1930s. His parents are separated so he lives back and forth between the United States with his ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Fates and Furies

    by Lauren Groff
    A tale of the secrets and passions of a marriage, exploring the depths of private lives.

    Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, ... (Goodreads)

  26. Enduring Love

    by Ian McEwan
    A story of obsession and its consequences, as two men clash over a woman's affections.

    Joe planned a postcard-perfect afternoon in the English countryside to celebrate his lover's return after 6 weeks in the States. The perfect day turns to nightmare however, when they are involved in ... (Goodreads)

  27. Tell the Wolves I'm Home

    by Carol Rifka Brunt
    A young girl's journey of grief and healing as she discovers the secrets of her beloved uncle's life.

    June Elbus is a 14-year-old girl living in Westchester in 1986. She is in love with her gay uncle, Finn Weiss, a fact she is scared to admit even to herself. Finn is dying of AIDS. Being a ... (Wikipedia)

  28. The Signature of All Things

    by Elizabeth Gilbert
    A woman's quest for knowledge and self-fulfillment, spanning through the 19th century.

    A glorious, sweeping novel of desire, ambition, and the thirst for knowledge, from the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Committed. In The Signature of All Things, ... (Goodreads)

  29. The Dry

    by Jane Harper
    A small town in rural Australia is rocked by a murder, leading a local detective to uncover secrets and lies.

    A small town hides big secrets in this atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper. In the grip of the worst drought in a century, the farming community of Kiewarra is ... (Goodreads)

  30. The Language of Flowers

    by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
    A young woman's journey of healing and redemption through the power of flowers.

    The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in ... (Goodreads)