Like Water for Weary Souls

Front Cover
House of Karhu, Oct 12, 2025 - Fiction - 282 pages

In Nolin Creek, the water runs deep and the secrets run deeper.

In the harsh landscape of a Depression-era Northern Ontario mining town, Finnish immigrant sisters Hanna and Essi Kivi scrape together a living as domestic workers, sharing a room in a disreputable boarding house owned by a protective madame.

When Hanna's body is discovered in the icy waters of Nolin Creek, the police call it a tragic accident. But Essi knows better. Her sister would never have risked crossing unstable ice—not after they lost their youngest sister Martta to drowning years before.

Haunted by guilt and driven by loyalty, Essi begins to unravel the secrets Hanna kept hidden. As Essi digs deeper into her sister's final days, she discovers that in a town built on desperation and dreams for a better future, everyone has something to hide.

A gripping tale of love, family, sisterhood, and the search for truth.

 

Selected pages

Contents

Prologue
PART ONE 1 April 1933
May 1924
April 1933
July 1931
April 1933
May 1933
PART TWO 22 October 1931
November 1932
December 1932
January 1933
February 1933
March 1933
April 1933
PART THREE 40 May 1933
June 1933

May 1932
August 1932
September 1932
Epilogue
Acknowledgements About the author
Copyright

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Like Water for Weary Souls
Liisa Kovala
No preview available - 2025

Common terms and phrases

Äiti apron Aunt Marjatta better black crow boarding house breath chair cigarette coffee cross doctor door everything eyes face father feel fingers Finland Finnish Fredi friends Gary Cooper girls give glance grip hair hand Hanna Kivi Hanna's death hear hope hurt Jussi Kallio Karelian pasties keep kitchen leans leave living look Martta Millie says Millie's Miss Kivi mother move never night nods Nolin Creek Officer Cane Officer O'Rourke okay parents parlour pauses Pekka Peltonen Petrozavodsk police pull rent Robert Cane rose gold Rouva Ruusa Ruusa screams silenced shakes his head shrugs sister sisu smile snow someone sorry Soviet Union stairs stare Street Sudbury talk targets girls tears tell Thank There's thing told truck trying turns Uutinen Vapaus voice walk Wanup watch What's window words worried Yvonne's

About the author (2025)

Liisa Kovala is a Finnish Canadian writer and book coach. Her debut novel, Sisu’s Winter War, was released by Latitude 46 Publishing in 2022. Surviving Stutthof: My Father’s Memories Behind the Death Gate (Latitude 46, 2017) was translated and published by Docendo in Finland, and short-listed for a Northern Lit award. Liisa’s short stories and creative non-fiction have been published in a variety of anthologies and literary magazines, and she received first prize in Geist’s 18th Annual Literal Literary Postcard Short Story Contest. As a certified Author Accelerator fiction and memoir book coach, Liisa works with writers both in small group settings and individually. Liisa features fellow writers in her Women Writing newsletter, hosts the Women Writing Podcast and co-hosts Rekindle Creativity Women’s Writing Retreat. Learn more about Liisa at liisakovala.com and visit liisakovalawomenwriting.substack.com.

Bibliographic information

TitleLike Water for Weary Souls
AuthorLiisa Kovala
PublisherHouse of Karhu, 2025
ISBN0995083444, 9780995083448
Length282 pages
Subjects ›  ›  › 

Fiction / Historical / 20th Century / General
  
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