10 books like The Light in the Window

By June Goulding,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like The Light in the Window. Shepherd is a community of 8,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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The Heart's Invisible Furies

By John Boyne,

From the list on making you laugh in a troubled world.

By Michael Raleigh Author

Why did Michael love this book?

Because it is, for lack of a better word, inspiring. I was inspired as a reader, and as a writer. Author Boyne has given us a book rich in character and event, a beautifully written account of the long life of a man constantly searching to learn who he is. Cyril Avery, the protagonist, is an orphan given up by his teenage mother in a small Irish town, later adopted but never quite certain of his true identity or the identity of his mother. The novel is also a portrait of Ireland over the second half of the twentieth century, warts and all. Though this is not a comic novel like my other choices, there is great wit in Boyne’s novel, and several comic scenes that really made me laugh (a scene in which the adolescent Cyril attempts to explain in confession his sexual fantasies to an aged and possibly…

The Heart's Invisible Furies

By John Boyne,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Heart's Invisible Furies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Compelling and satisfying... At times, incredibly funny, at others, heartrending' Sarah Winman, author of When God Was a Rabbit

Forced to flee the scandal brewing in her hometown, Catherine Goggin finds herself pregnant and alone, in search of a new life at just sixteen. She knows she has no choice but to believe that the nun she entrusts her child to will find him a better life.

Cyril Avery is not a real Avery, or so his parents are constantly reminding him. Adopted as a baby, he's never quite felt at home with the family that treats him more as…

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Fear of the Collar

By Patrick Touher,

From the list on Irish industrial schools and mother baby homes.

By Heidi Daniele Author

Why did Heidi love this book?

Fear of the Collar is Patrick Touher’s personal account of his experience in the Artane Industrial School. Artane was the largest Industrial School in Ireland and operated from 1870 – 1969.

At times Artane housed nearly 1,000 boys and was known to be self-sufficient – with the “inmates” making their own clothes, shoes, and the boys produced and grew their own food.

Touher takes the reader through the daily military-like regiment and discipline imposed upon young boys being cared for by the Christian Brothers. His story will evoke an array of feelings. It is important to read the epilogue as you will be in awe of the man Patrick Touher has become despite the harshness of his childhood.