Bonnie
MacDougall

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Explore the works, inspiration, and journey of Bonnie MacDougall, an award-winning novelist known for creating gripping and deeply moving stories.

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Bonnie

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MacDougall

Award-winning fiction author Bonnie MacDougall writes novels that live in the uncomfortable spaces between love, family, and the truths people spend lifetimes avoiding.

With a Ph.D. from Columbia University and four decades as a literature professor, she brings a scholar’s precision and a storyteller’s instinct to every page. Her three published novels have earned recognition from the NYC Big Book Award, the Independent Press Award, Literary Titan, and the Florida Writers Association.

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Featured Bonnie MacDougall Books are All About Fascinating Fiction

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Those Who Live

Description: Two cousins. Six female infants. Three generations of silence. Chinle Davis and Mae Godwin are determined to find out why these deaths were never spoken of, and what the family has been protecting ever since.

Finalist, Florida Writers Association 2023 Royal Palm Literary Award. Twelve five-star reviews on Amazon.

Award.
A. A finalist in the Florida Writers Association 2023 Royal Palm Literary

B. Twelve five-star reviews on AMAZON

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Something Terrible
About Love

Description: Love can be ecstasy, only to be lost. It lifts and then deserts. It forgives everything and forgets nothing. This novel traces what happens when love becomes the defining force of a life, and then withdraws.

Semi-finalist, Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Award, 2025. NYC Big Book Award winner, 2025.

Award.
A. THOSE WHO LIVE wins NYC Big Book Award,2025

B. Semi-finalist in Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Award Contest, 2025

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Love, Ruthie

Description: Was the poet Wordsworth right when he wrote that the child is the father of the man? Jane Meyer poses that question in a letter to Ruth Lucas, and neither of them is prepared for where the answer leads.

2024 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite, Women’s Fiction. Silver Award, Literary Titan. Third Place, Fiction, 2024. Featured in Times Square, New York City.

Award.
A. A 2024 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite in the category of Women’s Fiction –

B. 2024 display in Times Square, NYC

C. Third Place Award Fiction – Women’s February 22, 2024

D. Silver Award from Literary Titan

Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024! Love Ruthie won a silver Literary Titan award

E. Reader’s Favorite five stars

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Curtain Call

Description: After divorcing her husband, Frederica Jones moves from Manhattan to Florida for a fresh start. But when her lifelong friend Lea Gagnon is widowed and diagnosed with dementia in Quebec, Frederica must decide how much of her own life she is willing to sacrifice to care for her. Facing legal obstacles from Lea’s stepson, Frederica travels to Canada, where her true journey and the novel begin.

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Books Award

Third Place Award
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Best Book Author: Awards, Recognition, and Reader Trust

A Record That Speaks Without Being Announced

All three novels have received independent recognition within years of publication. Awards from the Florida Writers Association, Literary Titan, and the NYC Big Book Award place this work among the most decorated debut literary fiction of its era.

All novels are fiction. Yet readers consistently describe them as the most truthful books they have read in years. That is not a coincidence; it is the point.

What Readers Say

Five-star reviews across Amazon. Readers who return to reread specific chapters. Messages from people who sat with a book for hours after finishing it, not ready to leave. That kind of response is not manufactured. It is earned, page by page.

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Testimonials

Susan Diane Carter

Both Heartbreaking and Heartwarming
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2022 – Verified Purchase

Something Terrible About Love is a hauntingly beautiful account of a once wonderful mother/daughter relationship that has gone awry. Helen Baird is devoted to her run-away daughter, Kristen—and will do anything to get her back and reestablish their bond. It is a densely layered exploration of love, friendship, the pull of family, and the power of all three to transcend time and space. Something Terrible About Love will cast you in its spell and not let go until you reach its final pages. Be prepared to shed some tears. Bonnie MacDougall’s unforgettable story is told with grace, wisdom and the discerning eye of a poet.
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A Complex Yet Complete Circle of Love
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2023 – Verified Purchase

An amazing storyteller! I was captured in the first chapter and could hardly put down the book. What a story filled with characters who were multidimensional. And although there were several personalities, Dr. MacDougall tied them all to Helen in a complete circle of love. Enjoyed every minute reading it! Brava!
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Jacqueline Jacobs

A journey of self that is moving, relatable, and full of promise
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2023 – Paperback

“Love, Ruthie” is a wonderful fictional story of self-discovery with humor, life challenges, and acceptance of a life that navigates twists and turns which mimic the journey many of us experience. A delightfully poignant story. A must read.
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Page turner!
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2023 – Paperback

This book is unstoppable — once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down!
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Novelist Bonnie MacDougall — Mastering Character Development
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025 – Kindle

Exemplary in her search of the human condition, rising star novelist Bonnie MacDougall smartly lets her prime characters, two attractive young women, 26-year-old Chinle and 27-year- old Mae, tell their own stories while they jointly uncover their family’s hideous mystery, the deaths of six new-born family babies, either at birth or soon after. With Chinle and Mae, every self-realization, social or physical handicap, loss, change in life style, marital status, social and economic threat, every mood, tear shed, smile and sigh are nailed, investigated, dwelt with, rectified and/or adjusted to. Bonnie MacDougall has mastered character development. When you finish the last pages of “Those Who Live,” and close the cover, you will sense, like Chinle and Mae, a grand catharsis; you have enjoyed and benefitted, you have survived and even improved yourself, found life is better, even good. You may say to yourself, “Yes, I am better.” Unless, of course, you have always been, are now, and will always be… perfect.
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Amazon Customer

This is the best one yet!
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025 – Kindle

I loved the way chapters end with a lilt. I loved the two main characters and their relationship. I loved the interweaving of plot lines. I loved that the old ladies were old but still so self-aware. What a great read.
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Lovelace

Family history and relationships build to create a compelling, page-turning mystery!
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2025 – Paperback

Fascinating, memorable characters populate two cousins’ exploration of their dark family history, leading to a riveting journey through unexpected plot twists and surprising revelations. Family secrets revealed, new and old romances abound, and comedy and tragedy intertwine to make this an unforgettable family saga. A page-turner!
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Reader Favorites

Discover the works that readers and critics alike have praised for their insight, depth, and cultural richness. These standout titles represent the heart of Bonnie MacDougall’s contribution to literature, architecture, and South Asian studies.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the books by Bonnie MacDougall?

There are three published novels: Something Terrible About Love, Love, Ruthie, and Those Who Live. All novels are fiction. Each stands entirely on its own, though all three share a fascination with love, legacy, and the things families bury.

Are these the best books about love?

Something Terrible About Love examines romantic love at its most consuming and most destructive. Love, Ruthie looks at the love a woman holds for the person she used to be. Those Who Live asks what love costs the people left behind. Between the three, the full spectrum of love is on the page.

Where can I buy these novels?

All three are available on Amazon. Each title has its own page on this website with a full description and a direct link to purchase.

Do I need to read the novels in order?

No. Each novel is self-contained with its own characters and narrative. There is no series, no continuity between plots. Any of the three is a fine place to begin.

Has this author won any literary awards?

Yes. The NYC Big Book Award in 2025, the Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite in Women’s Fiction for 2024, a Silver Award from Literary Titan, a Third Place Award in Fiction, and multiple finalist placements in the Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Award. Love, Ruthie was also displayed in Times Square, New York City in 2024.

What kind of fiction is this?

Literary women’s fiction. These are character-driven novels concerned with love, grief, family, and the secrets people keep. They are not genre thrillers, though Those Who Live carries genuine mystery at its centre. Readers of Marilynne Robinson, Anne Tyler, and Toni Morrison tend to feel at home here immediately.

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