Locked in Silence: A Novel

A young woman spends four years in solitary confinement for murdering her baby. But did she commit the crime?

Growing up in pre-Civil War Philadelphia, a city torn by racial violence, Lizzy O’Meara could have obeyed her mother’s orders to stick to her own kind. Instead, she secretly joins the fight against slavery with her Black friend. When she meets Thomas Britton, a handsome Quaker, she knows she has found the love of her life.

But nine months later, everything falls apart when Lizzy gives birth and is accused of murdering her newborn baby. The only thing she remembers about the night of the birth is a midwife holding the child’s lifeless body and screaming that Lizzy murdered her baby. Sentenced to four years in Eastern State Penitentiary, Lizzy is told to spend her days reflecting on her crime and finding God. But the months of silence, isolation, and systemic abuse loosen her hold on sanity and drive her to the brink of suicide.

Once she regains her freedom, Lizzy learns the shocking truth about what happened the night she gave birth. She vows to move heaven and earth to reassemble the fragments of her broken life. But will she fall victim to an enemy from her past who is eager to exact his revenge? Will she reunite with Thomas? And will she ever come to know the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child?

Locked In Silence tells an emotional tale of suffering, survival, and the healing power of love.