Noelle Sickels Historical fiction Historical novels Historical fiction about WWII Historical paranormal thriller Teaneck NJ in the sixties Out of Love The Shopkeeper’s Wife The Medium Walking West In domestic Service Zone 3 Barefoot Productions Time Was Reminiscences by senior citizens Noelle Sickels Poetry Noelle Sickels Anthologies Noelle Sickels Memoir Searching for Armando
Praise from Reviewers
a rare and truly felt story
Noëlle Sickels has written a delicate and at times mesmerizing meditation on families, the meaning of human frailty and the toll of time. OUT OF LOVE is a rare and truly felt story.
Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Second Nature
many true-to-life details
I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of many true-to-life details in the story --- about Baby Scoop Era relinquishment and its aftermath, as well as the attitudes of some adoptive parents and the questions many adoptees have about their origins. The depth of Sickels’s research is evident not only in the adoption facts related throughout the story, but also in the characters’ complicated relationships with each other and the conflicted emotions each expresses. I became fascinated especially with the birth father’s viewpoint in this book since this is not a side we hear much about.
Karen Pickell, Lost Daughters blog
Praise from Readers
very gripping tale
Ms. Sickels’s attention to detail and character descriptions were spot-on in this very gripping tale. Though it is a beautiful love story, it also reads like a good old mystery. Put your feet up, grab a cup of tea or a chilled glass of wine, and sit back and enjoy!
Peggy Mannix Slattery, Amazon
navigates through many relationships and levels of love
Ms. Sickels is a good story teller who throws light on a much too common practice that many young women faced. OUT OF LOVE navigates through many relationships and levels of love. This is a story of journey, of family, of the complex consequences of surrendering a child into adoption. Hers is an unflinching view into this emotional complexity.
Jackangel, Amazon
Well worth reading a second time!
The reconnection with a first love and the love of a child come through its words and seep into your heart. Well worth reading a second time!
C.A.S., Amazon
A fascinating mystery of love lost, given up, forgotten and found again.
A fascinating mystery of love lost, given up, forgotten and found again. The search for a parent leading to an encounter with an old love touched my heart, feelings, and memories. A thoroughly enjoyable read. It was hard for me to put down.
Billy Ro, Amazon
compelling characters
All of Sickels’s novels capture the essence of the historical context with an accuracy that allows the reader to step into the period. She also creates compelling characters that resonate on many levels of human emotion, and experiences that are shaped by the context of their time. I found myself turning pages not so much to follow the story but to understand more about the individuals who were living the life I was invited to witness.
Kassia Dellabough, Amazon
different layers to the plot
A lover of mysteries, this book was very much of that genre for me. The protagonists had to search different avenues in their quest to find the child that was born so many years ago. With each clue, they were taken to different places and were “almost” at the end of their search, only to be given one more tiny clue that led them to another place. It was one of those stories that had different layers to the plot, and I wanted to keep reading to find out what they would find at the end of their journey. Bravo to Ms. Sickels for tackling this delicate subject.
Meryl Townes, Amazon
a wonderful read
From start to finish, it is very poetic, with a wonderful flow. Just a wonderful read.
Patty Kelly, California
an excellent job of describing emotions
I really enjoyed this. The story and the setting brought back many memories. I had a friend in high school who had to give up a child, and I know what she went through. Sickels did an excellent job of describing emotions.
Lynne Bublitz, Amazon
Anyone who has ever been a teenager will relate to this story.
Through the lives of two teenagers in love in the sixties and through the eyes of the adults they later became, OUT OF LOVE reveals how the cultural attitudes of the time upended natural love and tenderness, lives, plans, and dreams, for no good reason. Anyone who has ever been a teenager will relate to this story. It is told in a way that compels you to read forward in order to delve into the past and reveal the truth. A great read.
Sarah Starr, Amazon
wonderfully nostalgic of time and place
OUT OF LOVE is a terrific novel. I was sorry to come to the end, even though Janine and Dan were keeping me up late at night. It was wonderfully nostalgic of time and place. Janine and Dan brought back the heat and physical punch of young love. I also appreciated the emotional punch of revisiting 1965 from the vantage point of 1984. It felt satisfying to take stock of the changes in social norms and gains made.
Rochelle Selbert, Maryland
A very familiar story captured brilliantly
Loved, loved, loved the book. Am loaning it to my good friend whose pregnancy at age 16 resulted in placing her baby for adoption, and they were happily reunited about 15 years ago and have been a blended family ever since. A very familiar story captured brilliantly in the young woman’s emotional world, her parents, and the father. Also the son!
Karen Hesli, California
intimate and important issues in adoption
Touched on so many of the intimate and important issues facing all families in adoption in a respectful and realistic way. The book draws the reader into the characters’ experience.
Catherine Eliaser, California
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