The Bright Fabric of Life

by Mhairi Collie

A feel-good, uplifting tale of two women who make a life-changing connection.  In Ethiopia, beautiful Sylvie's successful life is derailed by a disastrous childbirth. With no money and no hope, all seems lost. 

In London, feisty Juliet is struggling with the many challenges facing a female surgeon as well as inner traumas of her own. Unsure how to balance career, love and life, she escapes to Ethiopia.

Under the vast African sky, these two women's lives are unexpectedly brought together. Can they help each other come to terms with their pasts? And will they be able to see a bright future on the horizon?

Published with the support of global best-selling writer Alexander McCall Smith.

Proceeds from this book go to the Uganda Childbirth Injury Fund ucif.co.uk/

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2024

Reviews

[Beth McCallum · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful book. The writing had me by the throat, and the romance was beautiful. I could spend more chapters in this hospital with Jan and Juliet as they treat their patients.

Disclaimer: below is how I review and rate a book. I focus on eight different elements of a story, such as plot, writing, pace, my own enjoyment etc. I do this for every piece of fiction.

Plot

This book reads more like a memoir/reflective journal than a novel. The back of the book sells this as story between two women and how their lives impact one another, but they don't meet until about 80% through this book. This book is about fistula patients entirely and how they impact Juliet and her journey as a surgeon. This book is about Juliet finding herself. This is about Juliet falling in love. It's a character driven story, and the plot felt a little empty at times, especially when big things happened, and the writer kind of glossed over them. Despite that, it was a super engaging story and I didn't mind the plot structure too much.

Characters

The characters and writing are definitely the star of the show. I absolutely adored Jan and Juliet (and Jeff). They felt like such fresh characters to me! You can just tell the author has lived life, seen places I haven't, and had hilarious experiences. The dialogue was so so good; I laughed out loud so much. I wish Jan and Juliet the best, I adored them together.

Writing

The writing is gorgeous. I can't believe the author is a surgeon and not a full-time writer. What a woman! I hope she writes more. Every line felt so fresh and original; I was in total awe sometimes. Not to mention the intimate scenes... they were so beautifully written. Normally I gloss over this type of stuff, but this was captivating without being cringe.

World-building

Sometimes I felt the back stories lacked a little or were glossed over. Other than that, the representation of fistula patients, what they deal with, and this little corner of the world was really cool and well done. I loved being with Juliet on her year abroad, but there was also such a cosiness of her returning to Scotland.

Pace

The pacing felt a little flat/unstructured for me at times. We jumped around a lot or things were cut short just as I was getting into them, especially during intense medical scenes.

Diversity/Representation

What a beautiful and honest representation of fistula patients. I loved watching them grow into giggly girls after their surgeries, singing and doing artsy things with one another. The hospital actually seemed like such a lovely, hopeful place. It must be nice to recover in a setting where people aren't constantly distracted by phones or TVs and instead, you get to spend time together. The author has her own organisation trying to raise money for fistula patients. This truly is a complication that can ruin someone's life, so I'm honoured to have read this book and can help spread the word: https://www.ucif.co.uk/

Enjoyment

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was easy to read yet so impactful. The characters were amazing and it felt like such a fresh and important story.

Ending

The ending was so gorgeous. I loved the scene of Jan and Juliet at Inverness airport. So sweet.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bright Fabric of Life is the debut novel from Edinburgh based author Mhairi Collie. She is a consultant surgeon who has worked with women who have suffered childbirth injuries in sub-Saharan Africa and her protagonist, Juliet, does the same in this book. As you can imagine then, Ms Collie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her book.

Juliet takes up the opportunity to work with Médecins Sans Frontières in Ethiopia as she tries to find her place in the male-dominated world of surgery and as she grapples with issues in her personal life. Sylvie is a young Ethiopian woman who suffered injuries during childbirth which totally changed her life. It was really emotional reading about what happened to her and the difficulties she, and others like her, faced as a result. When these two meet, some unexpected connections are revealed leading to a deep empathy between them.

As the author says at the beginning of the book, while all the people and places in the book are fictional the events all happened and continue to happen. If you are someone who doesn’t like too many details about medical issues don’t worry. The author skilfully describes the injuries her patients suffer and the impact this has on their lives while not being too graphic.

The author has created an amazing sense of place in her novel painting a vivid picture of the beauty of Ethiopia, the intense heat, the challenges faced by both the people of that country and by medics working in difficult conditions.

The Bright Fabric of Life is a story of struggle, tragedy and loss but it’s also a book where hope shines through. The important themes of the book are brilliantly and effectively conveyed by the author. It’s a book which really made me think and which I found moving, fascinating and compelling. From the surgeons to their patients, this is a book about strong, brave women.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF Page 220 (then kinda skimmed to the end but I don't think I can count that).

The premise is really intriguing and focuses on a medical condition [and an environment] that I knew nothing about but I really struggled with this one. The blurb talks about two women meeting and helping each other to heal however it's page 203/280 before they do eventually meet. By that point I already had the proverbial foot out the door.

Some thoughts:

Our central protagonist, Juliet - with whom we spent a large amount of time - didn't work for me. She's a 31 year old surgeon burned out with her lifestyle in London so takes a year appointment with MSF in Africa. She arrives in Ethiopia seemingly clueless about Obstetric Fistula - despite being sent specifically to a FISTULA HOSPITAL by her Professor.

."That's just so awful, I had no idea." Juliet gazed at the broken girl on the veranda. "I've never seen such a thing – we don't see this at home. The fistulae Ia mused to are usually tiny wee things at the bottom, temporary, hardly bother anyone." Pg. 22

Her shock at the lifelong impact of patients felt implausible; to go all that way without a quick search or conversation with a colleague would have prepared her at least a little bit for what she was walking in to? Throughout the book there was a wide-eyed naivety - paired with dialogue littered with exclamation marks - that didn't warm me to her.

- Things jump quite a bit here. Juliet arrives in Africa but next chapter we're three years earlier with Sylvie's disastrous birth. Or later on Sylvie's mother gives birth and there's no preamble, it just happens at the start of another chapter.

- Sylvie eventually goes to the refugee clinic where Juliet works, not to get treatment, but because her baby brother is run over. Then she is finally convinced by Juliet. Because of this Juliet felt passive. That their meeting was cause by this other

- Dialogue is clunky. The kind where characters share exposition to one another about things they would already know (Again I don't believe that you'd take a role with MSF, do an induction briefing before leaving, then arrive not knowing what VOG (Visiting Obstetrician and Gynaecologist) refers to).

- Finally, I think the blurb doesn't sell this book well. Too focussed on these two characters meeting whereas the book is more about their individual experiences etc. Juliet has already accepted a job in Inverness before she even meets Sylvie. So, although they have lovely heart to hearts about their losses and unresolved grief, it didn't have as a strong an impact on me as I was already checked out.

I wanted to like this. I really did. Kudos to Mhairi for writing it and donating proceeds to a charitable cause.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an inspiring and heart warming book. Mhairi tells the tale of her training as a surgeon and how she spent time in Ethiopia performing life saving surgeries on women who have had trouble with child birth. The work Mhairi did in Ethiopia was so life changing for so many women and this story is just truly inspirational. I loved every second despite it being very hard to read at times because the traumas Mhairi encountered were severe. Mhairi's experience so eye opening and I have learnt a lot from reading this amazing novel.

[Carol Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely read. Educational re the struggles of African woman with childbirth trauma, bit of romance included.
Def worth a read

[Sheryl Walpole]

Author is a medical friend of Glenys who goes to Africa regularly to operate on women with fistulas. Heard her speak at the Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh

[Julie-Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare to read a book that so equally informs and entertains. I could not put this book down, reading it over a few hours. The balance between fact and fiction was so well-weighed and the author dealt with the difficult but prevalent matter of childbirth injury in a way that was accessible but also impactful, and must surely resonate with a Western audience where traumatic childbirth still occurs. The story of these two young women was beautifully interlaced with their hopes and dreams, their challenges and their rescue, evolving in prose which was alternately moving and funny. I loved how the Ethiopian landscape, culture and history did not take second place in this story: its heat, colour, people and its importance in the evolution of mankind all evocatively penned by an author whose personal experience and passion rises from each page.