#BookReview|Her Mother’s Daughter by Alice Fitzggerald| from @AllenAndUnwin #Saga #FamilyLife #TopRead2018

 

• Family Life
• Mental Health
• Abuse
• Parenting
• Food Issues
• Women’s Fiction

|Synopsis|

1980: Josephine flees her home in Ireland, hoping never to return. She starts a new, exciting life in London, but as much as she tries, she can’t quite leave the trauma of her childhood behind.

Seventeen years and two children later, Josephine gets a call from her sister to tell her that their mother is dying and wants to see her – a summons she can’t refuse.

1997: Ten-year-old Clare is counting down to the summer holidays, when she is going to meet her grandparents in Ireland for the first time. She hopes this trip will put an end to her mum’s dark moods – and drinking.

But family secrets can’t stay buried forever and following revelations in Ireland, everything starts to unravel. Have Josephine and her daughter passed the point of no return?

|Review|

I read Her Mother’s Daughter by Alice Fitzgerald in one sitting. I was glued to my reading chair with fear and anticipation of what was going to happen.  The story Alice Fitzgerald writes so beautifully is filled with angst and pain. It’s a truly harrowing read and by the end, your head will be filled with so much that the book stays with you. Yes, it is one of those books.

Which for me is a good sign, if I have invested so much into the characters it means I cared. With Her Mother’s Daughter, I really did. It tackles lots of topic, secrets, abuse, mental health and parenting to name a few.  Told from the perspective of Josephine the mother and Clare the little daughter.  At times it was difficult to read but important to know what happened.

Although mental health is never talked about in the book it’s clear from the start that Josephine has mental health issues. Are these a result of her past? I would say a big YES.  I felt sad for Josephine, she had so much happiness in her life but for her, it was all tarnished by self-loathing and ghosts from the past.

Normally the husbands portrayed in a story of this type would be blind to everything. But not Michael, he is refreshingly on the ball and he loves his family. He’s not in the pub every night. He works hard and when he does see what’s happening he tries his best to fix it.

On the back of the book, it says, ‘The thought-provoking book club read of 2018’ and I totally agree. I run a book group on Facebook and this read would cause lots of discussions. For some, it would be too tragic and upsetting. For others, they would appreciate Josephine and Clare’s story being told. Because it’s sadly true to life story and it happens and has happened to so many people.

There are so many topics to dissect and discuss too. So if you do have book group I would suggest this as your next read. It will make for an interesting review night.

I thoroughly recommend Her Mother’s Daughter, Alice Fitzgerald captures the fragility of childhood so beautifully.

|Buy Link|

Thank you to Random Things Tours for the opportunity to be part of this magnificent tour.

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