DREAMS OF FREEDOM

An Irish woman’s story of love, justice, and a young nation coming apart.

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A young woman’s harrowing journey into a nation breaking apart.

Millions of immigrants were entering America’s heartland. Anti-Catholic bigotry and the seething national divide over slavery were soon to erupt in mob violence. Thousands of religious zealots could be heard chanting at revival meetings in upstate New York. Native people were being forced off ancestral lands.

In this chaotic setting, twenty-year-old Irish immigrant, Aileen O’Malley, came in search of her indentured father and kidnapped younger siblings, stepping into the epicenter of a growing maelstrom of violence along the Erie Canal.

Deeply relieved to have escaped a powerful man intent on forcing her to marry him in Ireland, Aileen falls in love with a vibrant, idealistic abolitionist, Jedidiah, who helps her desperate search for her family, with the odds of finding them dwindling by the day.

They encounter violence, slave-catchers, charlatans, and tragedy. After witnessing an enslaved man and woman taking their own lives to escape re-capture, they commit their souls and energies to the abolitionist movement.

Aileen collaborates with Frederick Douglass on his trip to Ireland, works with Elizabeth Cady-Stanton on women’s rights, and becomes a cunning operative with Gerrit Smith and Stephen Meyers on the last leg of escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad.

When she discovers her sister living in a utopian community with unconventional sexual practices, she leads a rescue that ultimately reunites her family and presages the Civil War to come.

Aileen’s journey provides a sometimes breathtaking close-up view of the people, places, and events that shaped young America before the Civil War.

Become a novel tourist and immerse yourself in the Dreams of Freedom!

...by experiencing the story where it unfolds! As you explore the historic landscapes of Upstate New York, let the pages come to life around you. Feel the history, see the scenery, and walk in the footsteps of the characters.

This is more than just reading — it’s an adventure for the senses. Ready to make your journey unforgettable?

Download Novel Tourist Guide

If you are in a book club, please send your address and the name of your club ( if you have one) below. I will mail you this free Novel Tourist pamphlet so you can discuss and plan “ Dreams of Freedom” adventures with your club! Then, we would love to hear about your adventures! 

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Thursday, October 30, 2025 - Hazard Library - Authors discussion and book signing with other local authors at 5-7pm

Saturday November 1 (9am-12pm) Chenango National Authors Day SUNY Morrisville- Norwich Campus

November 3rd, 2025 1:00pm - Announcement and Presentation CNY Reads One Book, Oasis Education Center, East Syracuse

November 5th, 2025 11am-1pm - Rome Reading Group at the Beeches

November 13, 2025, Ingrid Mahoney book club, Cazenovia

December 4, 2025, 4pm, Panel Discussion, WCNY

December 13, 2025, Onondaga Historical Association Book Club

January 8th, 2026, 7pm - Presentation, Onondaga County Public Library, Liverpool

Tuesday January 13th (11:45am) Tuesday Book Club, Onondaga Country Club

January 15th 2pm - Book presentation CNY Reads at Oasis Education, East Syracuse

Saturday March 7th (4pm) Matilda J Gage Home Presentation

March 12th, 2pm - Liverpool Library presentation for CNY Reads One Book

Saturday April 8th (11am-2pm) Fulton Golden Agers

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