The First Time I Said Goodbye

the long version

"In 1959, factory girl Stella Hegarty finds herself falling unexpectedly for the charms of a handsome US marine based in Derry.Caught up in a whirlwind of romance, Stella finds herself planning a new life in America with her beloved Ray.But when tragedy steps in, both their lives are thrown into turmoil and they come to realise they may have said their first, and last goodbye. In 2010, Annabel Jackson, reeling from the loss of her father, agrees to accompany her mother Stella back to Ireland to meet her family for the first time. In Derry they both start to realise that sometimes you have to say goodbye to what you thought you always wanted, in order to find what you have needed all along."--Cover page [4].