ONE WOMAN.
TWO MEN.
ONE DREAM.
COMING MAY 2026
About Dear Missing Friend
For fans of The Correspondent and The Dictionary of Lost Words
Sag Harbor, NY 1845: Catherine McGuirk leaves Ireland and a shipboard suitor behind for a new life. At the height of the 1840s whaling era, she marries a handsome sailor who promises to forsake the sea. Instead, he leaves for the gold rush, spurring on her quest to become a governess in Manhattan. Cath continues to be torn between her ambition, the missing seaman she married, and the now wealthy former beau she didn’t.
About Susan
Susan McGuirk posts about heroines of historical fiction books on her blog “The Storied Sisters Society” on Bluesky and Substack. While working at HBO, she honed her writing skills composing hundreds of in-house film reviews. She also worked at Anthology Film Archives, a historical film museum. Susan lives with her husband in New York City.
Early Praise for Dear Missing Friend
“Fans of historical novels will find much to like in McGuirk’s debut. An ambitious work of historical fiction.”
—Kirkus Review
“In Susan McGuirk’s epistolary novel Dear Missing Friend, letters go where the heart is meant to travel, enabling a kind of freedom that feels unattainable in daily life.”
—Foreword Reviews
“McGuirk creates a powerful foundation for a story that embraces many elements, from history to mystery, using Catherine’s strengths and character to bring this era to life. Recommendable to book clubs.”
—Midwest Book Review
“It resonates with works like The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri in its examination of cultural identity and resilience. Urgent and timeless, the novel offers an unflinching look at the cost of forging a new life in a foreign land and a tribute to the women who defied societal constraints. Simply Un-put-downable.”
—The Prairies Book Review
“I will not be forgetting this anytime soon. I hope there will be more people who would end up loving it like I did. Loved some lines so much I highlighted them, not for this review, but for myself to revisit in the future.”
—Literary Titan Review
“This captured my heart from the beginning and tears are still streaming down my face since finishing. It was extraordinarily well written and captured my attention from sentence one.”
—Entrada Publishing Review
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