Briarwood

About the Book

How do you fight what you can’t put your finger on? This is Monica O’Reilly’s dilemma—the sort of prejudice that floats below the surface and feeds on insinuation and intolerance. It is 1990. Monica is a shy, unassuming probationary teacher in a French immersion school with one year left before receiving tenure. She works hard, minds her own business, and does her best to avoid school politics. But with the arrival of a new principal—think the Devil Wears Prada—her life is suddenly turned upside down. Although she has received glowing reports for her teaching, she now finds herself coming up short on all her evaluations. Not even a school break-in, a dead body, or an escaped reptile can distract her administrator from pursuing her insidious “plan.” Just when Monica is about to give up, her principal has a bizarre accident and is replaced by an administrator who doesn’t share her toxic prejudices. When her principal recovers, she’s like a new woman—or is she? This is not just a novel about a dysfunctional school system. It’s about courage and perseverance in the face of sanctioned, institutionalized bullying. Ultimately, it’s a story about friendship, love, and the relationships that define us.

About the Author

T.E. McAnulty was born in Seattle, Washington and spent the first part of her childhood in France. She has degrees in elementary education and French, with an emphasis on French literature. Ms. McAnulty is an avid reader who worked for over a decade as a substitute teacher in a French Immersion school. She has also travelled extensively throughout France, Italy and Switzerland. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, going for long walks, classical music and studying Italian. She currently resides in Oregon.