Maternal rejection of Darragh McEllin at a young age is at the core of Secrets of the Surging Breakers. It leads him to incarceration in an infamous reformatory school in the nineteen sixties; the systematic abuse inflicted there is vividly depicted from the perspective of the child. In that iniquitous institution he is fortunate to encounter two kindly clerics who would have a profound influence on him.

During his detention there, all letters to his mother remain unanswered except for one to which she replies, promising to come for him on his twelfth birthday. But she never does.

Throughout his adulthood, as he enjoys astounding success in many facets of life, he clings relentlessly to his hope for a change of attitude from her