Liisa Kovala is excited to announce the release of her third book, and second historical novel, Like Water for Weary Souls (October 2025).

DESCRIPTION: 

In Nolin Creek, the water runs deep and the secrets run deeper.

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In the harsh landscape of a Depression-era Northern Ontario mining town, Finnish immigrant sisters Hanna and Essi Kivi scrape together a living as domestic workers, sharing a room in a disreputable boarding house owned by a protective madame.

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When Hanna's body is discovered in the icy waters of Nolin Creek, the police call it a tragic accident. But Essi knows better. Her sister would never have risked crossing unstable ice—not after they lost their youngest sister Martta to drowning years before.

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Haunted by guilt and driven by loyalty, Essi begins to unravel the secrets Hanna kept hidden. As Essi digs deeper into her sister's final days, she discovers that in a town built on desperation and dreams for a better future, everyone has something to hide.

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A gripping tale of love, family, sisterhood, and the search for truth.

ADVANCED REVIEWS: 

"She knew water. She knew ice.” Essi Kivi is observant and wise beyond her years. Her grief-torn world pulls us in, as she struggles to make sense of the cold hard facts about her sister, Hanna. In this soulful novel about the fateful choices people make during the Great Depression, we meet a young woman braving the odds to heal her family. Liisa Kovala writes with wisdom, heart, and intuition. She knows instinctively what drives justice-seekers, especially when they’re women—what they carry in their bones, what they’ll risk to unearth secrets and bring dark truths to light. And why, sometimes, hearts must break before they can be healed.

~ Susan Scott, ed., Body & Soul: Stories for Skeptics and Seekers

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In her second novel, Like Water for Weary Souls, Liisa Kovala weaves the story of a Finnish-Canadian family in Sudbury that is struggling with the obstacles that many new Canadians still face today: the friction between parents and children, the desire for each generation to better itself in terms of career goals, and the search for a place to call home. It’s also the tale of two sisters who struggle to understand one another, but who keep secrets of their own, as well. The resiliency of the characters is embodied in the Finnish word sisu, an idea that conjures the tenacity and strength of not just existing—but thriving—in a new world. Beautifully written and aptly evocative of a specific time and place in Northern Ontario history, Like Water for Weary Souls is a story that will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned. 

~Kim Fahner, author of The Donoghue Girl

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Liisa Kovala’s Like Water for Weary Souls draws readers into the gripping atmosphere of 1930s Northern Ontario, a challenging landscape that tests the human spirit. This is more than a mystery; it’s a heartfelt story about the deep strength of immigrant women and the lengths one sister will go to for truth. As young Essi Kivi searches for answers about Hanna's tragic death, the novel explores themes of love, loss, and quiet determination. Kovala offers a vivid and honest look at a difficult time, crafting a story that stays with you, showing how powerful the human spirit can be even in the face of great sorrow.  

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~Caroline Topperman, author of Your Roots Cast a Shadow

Learn more at liisakovala.com