In the quiet Appalachian hills, Louisa Oster believes she has everything a woman could hope for, a loving husband, a warm home, and a house filled with laughter from her children. But behind every joy lies a shadow. Life in the small town that shelters the Oster family is stitched together with both love and heartbreak, lullabies and loss, devotion and the ache of what’s been taken away. When tragedy strikes, first the loss of a newborn, then a deeper, more haunting disappearance — Louisa’s world fractures. Nineteen-year-old Ethel’s vanishing sends ripples through generations, leaving behind secrets, guilt, and the fragile hope that refuses to die. Spanning decades and generations, Losing Ethel is a moving historical family saga about grief, motherhood, resilience, and the ways love endures even when everything else falls apart. From Martin the jeweler’s immigrant dreams to Margaret’s old-world intuition and Anna’s fight for freedom , Martha Danner paints a vivid portrait of one family’s courage through sorrow. Heartfelt, haunting, and rich with period detail, Losing Ethel will resonate with fans of Kristin Hannah , Elizabeth Strout , and Lisa Wingate — a timeless story of love, loss, and the strength it takes to keep going when the heart refuses to forget.