Back to Bainbridge by Lally, Norah
Norah Lally is a native New Yorker who cherishes many childhood memories of time spent in her grandmother’s Bedford Park neighborhood in the Bronx. An alumna of New York University, Lally has professional experience as a journalist and screenwriter for film and television. Back to Bainbridge is her first novel. Norah currently resides in Los Angeles, California with her husband, children, and the family Shih Tzu, Murphy.
Welcome to Bainbridge Avenue, where fourteen-year-old Vicki’s life takes a bumpy turn. She’s got a lot on her plate—sharing a cramped room with her siblings, worrying about her mom who can’t catch a break, and dreaming about a dad who’s nowhere to be found.
But things start to change when Vicki meets Rosa from Apartment 1A, who introduces her to the building’s basement, a hidden world full of forgotten stories and secrets waiting to be uncovered.
As Vicki sets out beyond her neighborhood searching for her place in the world, she wonders if the imperfect family and friends she has on Bainbridge Avenue might just be the treasures she's been looking for all along. Join her on a journey of hope, heartache, and unexpected discoveries in Back to Bainbridge.
Select blurbs from book reviews:
“Lally’s debut novel is a thoughtful story about recovery from generational trauma, and about living with a parent who struggles with housing insecurity. She engagingly presents these ideas through Vicki’s eyes and day-to-day reactions...” —Kirkus Reviews
A "moving, empathetic must-read about growing up and discovering what matters." —BookLife by Publishers Weekly, Editor's Pick
“[An] accomplished work that packs a big emotional punch...” —Readers’ Favorite “...emotively captures the struggles of a young teen as she tries to find a place that feels like
home...” —IndieReader, IR Approved
Background/Inspiration for this book:
In Back to Bainbridge, the 14-year-old protagonist Vicki must move with her mom and siblings into her grandmother’s apartment on Bainbridge Avenue in the Bronx. At first, Vicki feels like an outsider, and entertains fantasies about getting away and having a completely different life somewhere else. But as she makes friends and gets to know her neighbors, there is a profound shift within her. This is a story about Vicki seeking a sense of acceptance and belonging, which is something we all desire.
The reason I decided to set the novel on Bainbridge Avenue is because growing up, my grandmother’s block was one of the only places where I felt truly comfortable and at home. She was a tough, no-nonsense, hardworking immigrant who took great pride in her apartment, built a strong community with her neighbors, and loved us unconditionally. My sister and I enjoyed playing with the kids who lived in her building, going grocery shopping with her, and listening to her tell stories. Setting this novel on Bainbridge Avenue is my way of paying homage to my grandmother, the vibrant and diverse neighborhood she treasured, and my roots there.
I have so many childhood memories in the Bronx that helped shape me as a person. My parents ended up divorcing, and by that time, my mother had three young children to raise. She was able to put food on the table by working as an animal travel coordinator at the Bronx Zoo. Then when I was a teenager, she decided to back to school. She earned her JD at Pace University, passed the NY State Bar, and secured a job as a law clerk at the Bronx Criminal Courthouse on Grand Concourse, where she worked for more than 20 years. She had an apartment on Greystone Avenue in Riverdale. My aunt Marie lived on E 207th Street and was a lector at St. Brendan Church. My brother, sister and I played in the playground at Oval Park back when there were still see-saws and jungle gyms that you could severely injure yourself on. My friends and I went to countless movies at Bay Plaza and Whitestone Cinemas. My uncle Dan lived with his family in Woodlawn, and in the book I named Vicki’s younger sister Judith after one of my favorite cousins who lived on Vireo Avenue.
While many of the locations referenced in Back to Bainbridge are real places that those familiar with the Bronx will recognize, and some of the characters and elements of the story are based on actual memories and experiences from my life; this novel is a work of fiction. In writing it, I took lots of creative license and used my imagination to craft the plot, characters, and the way the story unfolds. Since the novel launched on December 10, 2024 I’ve been delighted that readers of all ages and from all over the world have responded positively to its universal themes and heartfelt message.