The Paper Bracelet

by Rachael English

Every baby's bracelet held a mother's secret...

Inspired by heartrending real events, the gripping new novel from No. 1 bestselling author Rachael English. Readers of Diane Chamberlain and Kathryn Hughes will love this book.

For almost fifty years, Katie Carroll has kept a box tucked away inside her wardrobe. It dates from her time working as a nurse in a west of Ireland mother and baby home in the 1960s. The box contains a notebook holding the details of the babies and young women she met there. It also holds many of the babies' identity bracelets.

Following the death of her husband, Katie makes a decision. The information she possesses could help reunite adopted people with their birth mothers, and she decides to post a message on an internet forum. Soon the replies are rolling in, and Katie finds herself returning many of the bracelets to their original owners. She encounters success and failure, heartbreak and joy. But is she prepared for old secrets to be uncovered in her own life?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Book Club, Historical, Ireland, Ebooks, Contemporary

358 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 27, 2020

About the author

Hi, and thanks for visiting my page.
I'm the author of seven novels. The latest is WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BIRDY TROY?Before that there was GOING BACK, EACH AND EVERY ONE, THE NIGHT OF THE PARTY, THE PAPER BRACELET and the Irish number one bestsellers, THE LETTER HOME and THE AMERICAN GIRL.
Like many many writers, I also have a day job. I'm a presenter on the radio programme, Morning Ireland.
You can find me on Twitter - @EnglishRachael, on Instagram - @RachaelEnglishWriter or on Facebook.

Reviews

[Dem · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly beautiful and enchanting read, and a story that was uplighting and believable.

This is Rachel English’s fifth novel and having read and enjoyed The American Girl. I really wanted to read another novel by this author and the blurb on this book caught my attention.

Inspired by true events.
For almost fifty years, Katie has kept a box tucked away inside her wardrobe. It dates from her time working as a nurse in a west of Ireland mother and baby home in the 1970s. the box contains a notebook with the details of the babies and young women she met there. It also holds many of the babies identify bracelets. Following the death of her husband. Katie makes a decision. She posts a message on an Internet forum, knowing that the information she possess could help reunite adopted people with their birth mothers.

I hold a special place in my heart for mothers who’s children were taken away from them and placed for adoption, for decades Ireland’s mother and baby homes were shrouded in secrecy and only in the last number of years have has the veil been lifted and we are discovering the pain and heartbreak that women and their children went through.

I loved how Rachael English handles this story, it’s vivid uplighting while highlighting the stories of a number of young woman and their adopted children. It’s one of those books that where you get so immersed in the story, rooting for the characters and reading time flies by.

As a journalist and Radio show presenter, the author has first hand experience of working on stories down through the years that involved mother and baby homes and puts her knowledge to good use in this page turning story.

I think readers who enjoy writers such as Diane Chamberlain or Diane Chamberlain may well enjoy this novel.

Another book for my real life bookshelf.

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Paper Bracelet features the mother and baby homes that previously existed in Ireland. I’ve read other books featuring this sad time. The Paper Bracelet is about Katie, who was a nurse at this type of home. For years, she kept a notebook with mother and baby names, and now all this time later, she seeks to reunite the mothers and their children.

The story then goes backward in time where you learn about some of the women, the nuns, and the harsh circumstances under which they lived. The mothers are treated as sinners for becoming pregnant outside of marriage, and for this, they are treated as less than, stigmatized, undernourished, abused by being overworked, and their identities are taken from them.

The author took care to interview real mothers and children who experienced this type of home. The Paper Bracelet is a deeply emotional and powerful story, well-written, engaging, and I definitely want to read more books by Rachael English in the future.

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kate worked as a nurse in a mother and baby home in the early 1970’s, she kept a shoebox filled with baby bracelets and a notebook of names to remind her of the girls and the children that were born there.
After the death of her husband Kate decides that she would like to help the mothers and babies who will now be in their forties to reconnect with each other.
A sad story about the way girls were treated in Ireland at that time, they were left with no choice but to give their babies away.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Trish at Between My Lines · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Holy moly, I’m feel twisted and wrung out like a wet rag after reading this. The Paper Bracelet by Rachael English broke my heart with it’s tragic theme of what happened in Irish mother and baby homes in the past. All the more so as it’s many women’s untold story.

Thanks to Hachette Ireland for giving me for giving me a copy of this book for review consideration. As always, no matter what the source of the book, you get my honest, unbiased opinion.


FIRST LINE OF THE PAPER BRACELET BY RACHAEL ENGLISH

“They skulled in the dark like animals.”

5 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THE PAPER BRACELET

- The characters – Patricia in the Mother and Baby home 50 years ago. And Katie a retired nurse who worked there, and wants to reunite the identity bracelets that she collected with their rightful owners. These were characters that I empathised and agonised with from page one.

- The theme makes for an emotional, intense and heavy plot. But a hopeful uplifting feel to the writing balanced out the heaviness wonderfully. It stopped it feeling too black, and I really enjoyed the lively dialogue and colourful modern setting of the current timeline.

- The mystery of matching the bracelets with their owners, and seeing how their lives turned out. I invested hugely in their stories and grieved and celebrated along with them.

- The book felt well researched, and I think it’s a lovely way of keeping this horrible part of our history alive. Women and children suffered inhumane injustices that should never EVER be forgotten.

- I really appreciated how the two timelines slotted together. Colour me moved and more than a little torn up with sadness.

Overall this was a powerful read. And my heart pounded from the rollercoaster of emotions that I flowed in and out of. Racheal English is one of my favourite contemporary Irish authors and this book is a perfect example of how her books suck me in.


WHO SHOULD READ THE PAPER BRACELET BY RACHAEL ENGLISH

I can’t recommend this highly enough to you if you enjoy dual timelines, rich character development and intense, emotional plots. Fans of Patricia Scanlan, Diane Chamberlain and Maeve Binchy should also enjoy.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absorbing, poignant, and heartrending!

The Paper Bracelet is a harrowing, moving novel set in Ireland during the 1970s, as well as present-day, that takes you into the halls of Carrigbrack, a mother-and-baby home run by nuns where unwed pregnant girls are unwillingly banished to repent, deliver, and subsequently relinquish their parental rights under conditions of emotional and physical abuse, meagre basic necessities, excessive workloads, and often vicious, sadistic punishments and the complex, emotional journey to reacquaint mothers with their long-lost children years later.

The prose is sentimental and rich. The characters are vulnerable, strong, and brave. And the plot told from multiple perspectives is a compelling blend of life, loss, secrets, surprises, heartbreak, abuse, survival, motherhood, and friendship.

Overall, The Paper Bracelet is a compassionate, enlightening, hopeful tale inspired by true-life events that is a haunting reminder of all those women who lived, suffered, and endured in these horrific institutions and continued to do so late into the 20th century. It’s a book that, ultimately, needs to be read to appreciate just how well researched, beautifully written, and extremely memorable it truly is.

Thank you to Mobius Books US for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m sure many of you have heard about the mother and baby homes before. It’s a dark era in Ireland’s past (though not only there) and for some reason a topic that I just can’t stop reading about or watch documentaries about, even though it’s often extremely upsetting.

In Rachael English’s latest novel, we meet Katie. She used to work as a nurse at a mother and baby home. During her time there, she kept a notebook with information about the mothers and babies she met, as well as many of the babies’ paper bracelets. Now, fifty years later, Katie decides it’s time to use her knowledge to reunite birth mothers with their children.

Interspersed throughout the story are chapters dealing with the mother and baby care home where Katie worked. The reader meets Patricia and it’s through her eyes that the harsh circumstances these women found themselves in are laid bare. Effectively abandoned by their families, they found little sympathy in the home. It didn’t matter where they came from, how old they were or how they fell pregnant. They were sinners and that was that.

Under the guidance of Catholic nuns, who quite frankly clearly lost their Christian ways if you ask me, they were stripped of their names and their identities. They were forced to work the fields, or in the blazing heat of a laundrette while months pregnant … can you even imagine? Some were even forced to stay at the home to work off their debt, after their babies had been given up for adoption. It’s not at all surprising to learn that some birth mothers just didn’t want to be faced with their past and somehow tried to erase that part of their lives from their memory. Different times indeed but scary to realise, they really weren’t that long ago.

It feels wrong somehow to say that I enjoyed those chapters the most. That is not to say I didn’t enjoy reading about Katie and her experiences, or the characters she meets along the way. But there was something about Patricia’s chapters that kept pulling me back in and I could quite happily have read an entire book about her life at the home. I couldn’t at all figure out how, or even if, the two strands of the story fitted together. But all the while, I tried to match some of the adopted children to the women at the home while Patricia was there. These now adult children the reader meets, lead very different lives. Some never left Ireland, some were adopted by people in America. Some are having a hard time, others are rich and seemingly happy. One is even a rockstar. Some have always known they were adopted, some only found out recently. But they all want to know where they came from.

I am a huge fan of Rachael English’s writing and with The Paper Bracelet she manages to tell this heartbreaking story beautifully. I often felt quite emotional while reading, even may have had a lump in my throat and that doesn’t happen often. As a journalist, Rachael came into contact with women from a mother and baby home in the early nineties and The Paper Bracelet is inspired by those interviews. These women’s stories should never be forgotten.

"Thousands of women were continuing to live with a bitter legacy, and many were doing so in secret. These were the women who had been treated like criminals when some were the victims of crime. Their children had been taken from them and they’d been warned that any attempt to find their son or daughter was illegal. I wanted to try and bring the mothers and the women who ran the homes to life. It’s too easy to portray the nuns as caricatures of evil and the mothers as devoid of wit and personality. I hope I’ve done them justice. – Rachael English"

You have, Rachael. You most definitely have.

[Tracy Fenton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read several books about the unlawful adoptions in Ireland and have always found the subject matter deeply moving and emotional so I was eager to read The Paper Bracelet by Rachael English.

This is also my first book by this author.

Unfortunately I just did not connect with the characters or the storyline and was left feeling very unmoved and indifferent throughout. I found myself thinking about giving up several times but kept on going hoping something would change but it didn't.

Reading other people's reviews on this book makes me think this could be me and not the book and giving the strange new world we find ourselves in, perhaps I should put this down my emotions being affected by Lockdown.

I've given this 3 stars because the book is well written but it just didn't work for me at all.

[Romina Dimenza · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book, it left me rethinking about many things.
It baffles me how this mother and baby homes existed until the time I was born even. Not long ago.
The stories of the women and their children tied to places like that scarred for life for how they were treated, mistreated and disposed of. My heart breaks for everyone touch by this dark places.
Is such an important task to enlighten the rest of us in the horrors lived, so we can make sure things like this never happen again in any way, and in this book even being fiction, was done brilliantly, tactfully, and with respect.
Just amazing...

[Maria V. Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was picked by my book club for this month. It was a quick read and well written. The story is based on true events as there were homes for un-wed mothers in the 60's to the 80's and the children were adopted despite the mother's wishes. A terrible time. This is a sad story, but there were also some uplifting scenes.

The ending was a bit dodgy for me I guessed "Then Patricia" was Katie the main POV, but I wasn't sure how she became Katie the nurse. I'd thought perhaps she lied to her husband about being a nurse and was really one of the mothers and the paper bracelets were from when she was an "inmate" of the home, 'cause let's face it, the place was worse than a prison. If she'd lied all the years to her husband - that would have been a real surprise - but she was sent home to learn how to be a nurse and had to come back to the home to complete her sentence. I don't know if that quite works, but I'm willing to go with it overall." However, it worked overall.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was completely gripped by this story from the very first page. Other books on this subject left many questions unanswered for me, and this supplied everything I wanted to know…and much more.

Main character Katie has recently lost her husband after a long and happy marriage. As a young girl in the 1970s, she worked as a nurse in an Irish Mother and Baby home run by nuns. Whilst she was there she secretly kept the paper bracelets from the baby’s wrists which showed a little about the mother and child’s identity. Now grieving, Katie needs a project to focus on and dispel some ghosts from her past. Along with her niece, she begins a mission to reunite adopted children with their birth mothers.

Rachael English brilliantly describes the conditions that the pregnant girls were forced to live and work in. The nuns made the girls feel sinful and gave them no voice when it came to the wellbeing of their babies. They had to work solidly throughout their pregnancies right up to the time of birth. There were no home comforts, no medical help, and no compassion for the mothers. The young women were even forced to stay and work after they had given birth to repay the debt that was outstanding for their care.

Although the girls were not allowed to even speak to each other they found windows of opportunity to share their feelings and incredible bonds were formed. I loved how the writer included these pockets of incredible warmth and companionship between the girls, a complete contrast to the cruelty they received from adults who should have known better.

It’s hard to think that these Mother and Baby homes existed such a short time ago. The hardship inflicted seems more fitting with practices used a century ago. However, it’s important to know that the story is based on factual events and these horrendous establishments genuinely existed. The author has done a great job of piecing together the factual aspects with a captivating story through detailed research and astounding storytelling.

There are stories within stories and multidimensional characters who come to life on the page. This dual timeline novel leans towards many serious issues which are all dealt with incredibly sensitively. Although the book is sad, and the hardships difficult to comprehend, the plot just drives you on as you become incredibly invested in the wellbeing of the characters. There are secrets, deceit, mystery, and a huge twist. Most of all, I think The Paper Bracelet is a story that needs to be told and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

[Julie K Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story covers the mother and baby homes in Ireland in the last century, where unwed mothers were sent and treated very harshly. It is a topic I have read about before. This story is interesting, although at times, I felt it dragged a bit too long. It also became confusing because the names of the mothers and babies were changed and the cast of characters was large. The author would refer to them by their given names and their names in the home.

[Cathy Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭑

The Paper Bracelet is inspired by true events, namely the harsh way unmarried mothers were treated, not only in Ireland where this story is set, but further afield as well. For a long time nothing was known about the injustices and heartbreak women suffered in mother and baby homes, run by nuns for women, and sometimes including young abused girls, whose families didn’t want the shame or stigma of an unmarried and pregnant daughter. Rachael English tells this heartbreaking story extremely well and with empathy.

The story unfolds, alternating between ‘then’ and the young women, who are not even allowed to use their own names, in Carrigbrack, and ‘now’ when we meet Katie Carrol, a former nurse in the mother and baby home. ‘Patricia’ waits for the parish priest to transport her to the home, unaware of the fate that awaits her.

Katie Carrol, nearing seventy, is grieving after recently losing her husband. She is at a loss what to do next as the friends and neighbours who have been there with help and support, move on with their own lives. Her niece, a box of tiny identity bracelets and a diary give her a purpose and a long overdue opportunity to help those adoptees who are interested in searching for their birth mothers.

That the story came from several perspectives—someone who worked in a mother and baby home, The mothers themselves as well as some of the children who were adopted—gives a rounded view of events and how they affected individuals. Treated like slaves by so called ‘Christian’ nuns, the women were forced into manual labour in the fields and back breaking work in a steaming laundry until they were about to give birth. To make a bad situation even worse, they had to stay at the home until they’d worked long enough to pay off their ‘debt’.

Even if a mother loved and wanted to keep her child, wishes and pleas were dismissed out of hand and children were taken forcibly and the mothers were warned of the legalities if they even attempted to find their children.

Rachael English has done a wonderful job of bringing these women to life, and showing that not quite all the nuns were lacking in kindness, decency and sympathy for the plight of the women. What horrors people inflict upon one another in the name of religion astounds and appalls. A powerful, poignant and compelling story.

[the.marvelous.mrs.reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es ist grausam, was Frauen noch vor wenigen Jahrzehnten durchmachen mussten.
"Das geheime Band" von Rachael English hat mir die Augen für ein Thema geöffnet, das mir in diesem Ausmaß überhaupt nicht bewusst gewesen ist.

Die ehemalige Krankenschwester Katie bewahrt seit beinahe 50 Jahren Papierarmbänder auf. Sie stammen von Babys, die in Irland der 1970er Jahre geboren wurden und gegen den Willen ihrer unverheirateten Mütter zur Adoption freigegeben wurden. Katie sieht die Zeit gekommen, um Mütter und Kinder wieder miteinander zu vereinen, auch wenn dies bedeutet, dass sie selbst sich nun auch ihrer Vergangenheit stellen muss.

Die Geschichte spielt einmal in der Vergangenheit aus Patricias Perspektive. Sie ist ungeplant schwanger geworden und unverheiratet. In der damaligen Zeit eine Sünde. Also wird sie von ihren Eltern und dem Dorfpfarrer in das von Nonnen geführte Heim Carrigbrack gebracht.
In der Gegenwart begleitet man Katie, die Mithilfe ihrer Nichte versucht die Armbänder an die rechtmäßigen Besitzer zu geben. Hierbei muss sie sich mit ihrer Vergangenheit als Krankenschwester in dem Heim auseinandersetzen.
Aber die Geschichte wird in der Gegenwart auch aus Garys, Ailishs und Brandons Perspektive erzählt. Die drei wurden als Babys zur Adoption freigegeben und sind nun auf der Suche nach ihren Wurzeln.

Ohne erhobenen Finger erzählt Rachael English die Geschichten ihrer Protagonisten und gewährt Einblicke in ein grausames System.
"Das geheime Band" ist gleichermaßen berührend wie auch schockierend.
Ich empfehle allen Lesern im Nachgang Rachael Englishs Anmerkung zum Buch zu lesen. Hier geht sie noch einmal genauer auf das Thema ein, erklärt die Beweggründe für ihr Buch und liefert noch einige interessante Fakten.

[Meli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der Klappentext des Buches hat mich direkt angesprochen. Es ist anders als alle Bücher, die ich normalerweise lese, aber dafür war es auch wahnsinnig interessant.
Zu Beginn konnte ich mir nicht richtig vorstellen, wie diese "Mutter-Kind-Heime" damals waren, doch die Geschichte bietet einen weiten Einblick.

Man begleitet in der heutigen Zeit zusammen mit Katie und Beth vorallem die Geschichte von 3 weiteren 'Kindern', die alle sehr individuell und besonders waren. Es hat mich emotional sehr mitgenommen.

Abwechselnd gibt es Kapitel aus der Sicht einer Heimbewohnerin, Patricia. Dort wurde vieles, wie es im Heim zu ging noch genauer beschrieben und ich war oft geschockt und auch wütend über diese Verhaltensweisen der Nonnen und Schwestern. Es war alles so unmenschlich, und das ist weniger als 100 Jahre her. Bis heute haben diese Heime noch Auswirkungen auf Teile unserer Gesellschaft.

Durch die wechselnden Sichten und das Begleiten unterschiedlicher Personen war das Buch durchgehend spannend und ich konnte es kaum aus den Händen legen. Ich wollte immer wissen, wie es weitergeht, ob die Mutter gefunden wird, etc.

Die Tatsache, das alles auf wahren Begebenheiten basiert, hat es noch realer und erschütternder gemacht. In den Anmerkungen erklärt die Autorin auch, dass die erzählten Geschichten der Personen auch so (ungefähr) passiert sind. Einfach krass.

[Tanya M Spiegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad

My mom was 16 and sent to a home like in this book. She told me how she refused to sign surrender of my sister and how bad it was to be alone. She also told me that her babies daddy had also gotten another girl pregnant at the same time and he married the other girl instead of my mom. I read this book because it so made me think of my mom. She never gave in or gave up on my sister and eventually the nuns told my grandparents they had to take her back. She never had it easy. But not a day goes by I don’t miss my mom and her strength. As with these women it leaves a scar. When I adopted my 3 kids I signed up for them to be able to be contacted should a sibling or a parent look for them. God bless all mothers

[Jen Stowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good story, but I felt if the author wrote it a little bit differently it could have been 4 stars, in my opinion. The writing felt a little choppy and sometimes boring to get through. Overall, I’m still glad I read it, but will be hesitant to read other books by this author.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Paper Bracelet is a fiction story inspired by true events. I don't think there are many people who are unaware of the terrible and horrifying things that happened to unmarried mothers in Ireland. There have been news reports, and films and books written about this subject, detailing the absolute cruelty dished out to these women.

Rachael English has written a story within The Paper Bracelet that looks at the events through different eyes.

Katie Carroll worked as a nurse for many years at a one of the homes for unwed mothers. During her time there she kept the paper bracelets that the babies born at the home wore, along with a notebook recording details of the women and their babies. Now retired and recently widowed, Katie feels that it's time to try to return these bracelets; to track down those babies.

The reader is also told the story of Patricia, one of the mothers in the home way back then, and it is through Patricia that the real horrors and cruelties are laid bare.

An especially interesting addition to the story is that of the stories of some of those babies; adopted and moved throughout the world, Racheal English gives them all a unique identity, each one of them dealing with life in different ways.

This is, at times, quite heartbreaking to read, it also evoked a lot of anger in me. My own mother was an Irish single mother in the 1960s, I was her baby, and she fought hard to keep me. Sadly, for the majority of unwed pregnant women in Ireland, they didn't get that opportunity and the effects have been long lasting and shameful for the country.

The Paper Bracelet is sensitively and respectfully written by this skilled author. It is a story that shouldn't be hidden away, ever.

[Susan Lawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book entirely different than I would have 16 months ago before my birth father found me after I had been put up for adoption in 1971. Although this story was fiction, it was both heartbreaking & heartwarming to follow the different characters on their journeys to find their birth families. I can more than imagine how they must’ve felt since I’ve been there…although, none of their fictional reunions are as good a story as my own real one!!

[Emily Short · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️!

[Babs · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Das geheime Band" von Rachael English hat mein Interesse aufgrund des emotionalen Klappentexts geweckt. Verspricht dieser doch einen zu Herzen gehenden Roman. Und dieses Versprechen kann dann auch größtenteils gehalten werden, wenngleich ich auch gestehen muss, dass an der ein oder anderen Stelle die Handlung auch ein wenig vorhersehbar ist, was das Lesevergnügen aber auch nicht wirklich mindert.

Im Mittelpunkt der Handlung steht vor allem die irische Krankenschwester Katie, die nach dem Tod ihres Manns ein dunkles Geheimnis lüften möchte. In den 70er Jahren hat sie als Krankenschwester in einem Mütterheim gearbeitet, in das damals junge Frauen geschickt wurden, um versteckt ihr Kind zur Welt und zur Adoption freigeben zu können. Oder besser gesagt zu müssen, denn eine wirkliche Wahl hatten diese Frauen nicht. Katie hat seitdem die Armbänder der Babys bei sich behalten und nun sieht Katie ihre Zeit gekommen die Kinder wieder mit ihren Müttern zu vereinen. In einem Adoptionsforum postest sie einen Beitrag, auf den sich verschiedene Menschen mit unterschiedlichen Reaktion melden. Unterstützt wird sie von ihrer Nichte Beth und dem dem Bassisten Gary, der selbst auf der Suche nach seiner leiblichen Mutter ist. Dabei treffen sie auf die unterschiedlichsten Personen und müssen erkennen, dass dieses Geheimnis sie mehr mitnimmt, als sie es sich vorstellen konnten.
Die Handlung läuft in zwei verschiedenen Zeitzonen ab. Einerseits gibt diese die Geschehnisse und die Versuche der Familienzusammenführungen wieder. Zum Anderen erzählt diese die Erlebnisse der jungen Patricia, die in den 70er Jahren ungewollt schwanger wird und in dem Heim untergebracht wird. Ihre Beschreibungen gehen sehr zu Herzen, sind diese doch nicht immer leicht nachzuvollziehen. Man könnte jetzt einfach sagen "das waren früher ganz andere Zeiten". Allerdings spiegelt dies die grausame Realität nur bedingt wieder. Patricias Sicht auf die Geschehnisse der Vergangenheit sind teils erschreckend, teils aber auch hoffnungsvoll. Sie ist extrem charakterstark, so dass man mit ihr fiebert und sich für sie ein Happy End erhofft.
Man merkt, dass die Autorin ihre Figuren sehr gut durchdacht hat. Sie zeichnet von ihnen ein sehr gutes Bild, so dass es einem leicht fällt sich in diese hineinzuversetzen. Zwar kann man nicht jeder Handlung der Charaktere immer ganz persönlich nachvollziehen. Allerdings sind genau diese widersprüchlichen Reaktionen es, die die Charaktere Glaubwürdigkeit verleihen und die Handlung so beleben und sehr real erscheinen lassen.

Rachael Englishs Schreibstil ist sehr emotional. Mit einem gut konstruiertem Handlungsfaden schafft sie es die Handlung sehr kontinuierlich immer wieder mit kleinen Spannungsspitzen aufzulockern. Dies ist einer dieser Romane, bei denen die Augen beim Lesen nicht trocken bleiben und man Taschentücher bereithalten sollte.
Von Seite zu Seite fiebert man immer mehr mit. Auch wenn manchen Zusammenführungen auch ein wenig vorhersehbar sind, kann man nicht anders als ihnen entgegen zu sehnen. Allerdings muss ich auch gestehen, dass mir persönlich das Ende ein wenig zu vorhersehbar und teils auch ein wenig überdreht vorkam.
Dies ist einer der Romane, die man beim Lesen nur schwer aus der Hand legen mag und der vor allem durch seine emotionale Wortwahl überzeugt. Der Roman fängt ein dunkles Kapitel der irischen Geschichte mit ein, die genauso gut auch in Deutschland zur damaligen Zeit hätte spielen können.

Fazit:
"Das geheime Band" von Rachael English ist extrem emotional und gefühlvoll geschrieben, geht sehr zu Herzen und rüttelt auf. Lediglich der Schluss ist etwas vorhersehbar und konfus, so dass ein leicht bitterer Beigeschmack verbleibt. Dieser Roman überzeugt mit einem sehr realistischem Thema, welches die Einstellungen zu verschiedenen Zeiten sehr gut widerspiegelt.
Ich für meinen Teil habe den Roman sehr genossen und kann daher eine unbedingte Leseempfehlung aussprechen,

Note: 2+ (💗💗💗💗)

[buchwoerter · Rating 4 out of 5]

• DAS GEHEIME BAND •

Rachael English konnte mich mit ihrem tragisch, emotionalen Roman wirklich berühren.

Irland in den 1960ern/1970ern: in dem sehr katholisch geprägten Land werden zahlreiche junge, alleinstehende Schwangere in Heimen untergebracht. Dort sollen sie angeschnitten von der Außenwelt ihr Kind gebären und zur Adoption freigeben. Sie haben keine Wahl, müssen harte Arbeit verrichten und ihre Sünden büßen.
Katie hat als junge Frau in einem solchen Mutter-Kind-Heim als Krankenschwester gearbeitet. Die Babyarmbänder bewahrte Katie über Jahrzehnte auf, um nun den adoptierten Kindern die Möglichkeit zu geben ihre leiblichen Eltern ausfindig zu machen.

Was für eine Geschichte! Die Grausamkeit der Nonnen, das Leben als junge Frau in einem Heim und die emotionale Achterbahnfahrt der Mädchen haben mich berührt. Erschreckend, dass Teile der Handlung auf wahren Begebenheiten beruhen. Der Spannungsbogen flacht nicht ab, sondern es bleibt gleichbleibend spannend. Auf zwei Zeitebenen findet die Erzählung statt. Dabei sind die Charaktere und Einzelschicksale authentisch. Der damalige Heimalltag und der Umgang mit den Wöchnerinnen wird anschaulich beschrieben: teils sehr emotional und schockierend! Die Autorin zeigt nicht mit erhobenen Zeigefinger auf die Frauen, sondern erklärt ihre teils ausweglosen Situationen. Katie begleiten wir bei ihrer Spurensuche. Nach und nach werden Geheimnisse, Schicksalsschläge und Hintergründe aufgedeckt.

📖 Emotional, tragisch und teils erschreckend. Ein Buch das zeigt, dass das Band zwischen Mutter und Kind auch Jahrzehnte später besteht und es nie zu spät ist, sich auf die Suche zu begeben. Lesenswert!

[Jane Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in a day and a half. I could not put it down! I found all the characters touching and the central story so sad. Young girls and women made to feel so shamed in a situation that was different for each of them. Heartless was a word that kept coming to my mind as I read of the girls' treatment. The search for the grown children and connection to their birth mothers was full of true angst.

Rachael English has written a moving novel with many highs and lows. The author's note put everything into perspective. I look forward to reading more by this excellent writer.

[Margaret Madden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow...

[Honestmamreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Paper Bracelet is based on true events, and that's what hurts the most when reading this book. Knowing that what your reading has happened to women for real. And, it breaks your heart to know that such places existed. Church-run institutions where unmarried women were sent to deliver their children under a veil of secrecy, silence and shame for decades. This isn't something that happened centuries ago, this was going on in the 60s and 70s.

In this story we read about Katie. She was a nurse who worked in one of these institutions. She has kept a box which has paper bracelets of the babies that were born there during her year long working time. She also kept a notebook detailing some information about the mother's. Now fifth years on Katie wants to find these babies and give them back their bracelets, and hopefully reunite them with their mothers.

We are told the story from a present narrative of Katie and her search for the now grown up babies. In the present narrative we also get the stories of those searching for their biological mother's. The past narrative of the mothers in the home is what I found harder to read. These were very emotional and raw accounts of what was happening.

It's beggars belief that this is something that actually occured. Women were made to feel shamed that they had gotten pregnant, and it didn't matter under what circumstances it seemed the woman was to be vilified for their actions.

I love watching programmes that reunite long lost families. And, this story was very similar. It was lovely when Katie could help the children find their mothers. It is the heart wrenching reasons why they were separated that knocks you. 

The Paper Bracelet will tug at your heart strings and make you glad that times have changed and that these places do exist anymore.

[janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I'm pretty sure the majority of people have heard of the Mother and Baby homes in Ireland in the 70's and the horrendous treatment those poor girls endured. I myself have previously read a couple of books based around these homes but never before have I read one written so beautifully.

Rachael English totally captures you within the first chapter and doesn't let you out of her grip. I was left wrung out emotionally by the last chapter, it broke my heart in places and had me smiling wildly in others.

Written in the past from the POV of Patricia and the present from the point of view of Katie, both stories interweave and grab you by your heart strings. I must admit I feel guilty by saying I really enjoyed Patricia's story, if enjoyed is the word? It wasn't enjoyable reading the diabolical treatment the girls were put through but there was something about Patricia's chapters that had a real hold on me.

Rachael has managed yo tell a truly heartbreaking story beautifully and with real grace and dignity as a reflection to the girls that would once have been basically imprisoned in these so called catholic homes, if that is the way that God has willed the Nuns to behave towards th poor girls than I hope they burn in hell (especially sister Sabina)

Rachael you have done those girls proud and once again written one hell of a book!

Huge thanks to netgalley and Headline for the ARC.

[Carly Findlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book contains mentions of rape, adoption, I intergenerational trauma

In the 197s, Katie Carrol worked as a nurse in a house for unwed mothers. Katie kept paper bracelets from babies born there, as well as a book containing details about the mother’s.

After her husband died, Katie sets out to reunite adopted children to their birth mothers.

The book switches between present day and the time in hospital, and is told from a number of perspectives.

It’s based on true stories. The accounts are harrowing - stories from a stolen generation of sorts. I was saddened by the lack of worth placed on women who became pregnant by accident or due to being raped, as well as the disregard for the children. It’s hard to believe this happened less than 50 years ago - and in some parts of the world, is still happening.

There was some ableism throughout - talk of a baby who had Cerebral Palsy - but I felt that this ableism was assessed in the dialogue between characters.

It’s sad and heartwarming, a story of class and feminism. I listened to the audiobook and it was nice to keep me company.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Despite the subject matter of the unfortunate girls who were incarcerated in a Mother and Baby home and forced to give up their babies the book is very uplifting. The main character Katie once a nurse in the home held onto babies bracelets and goes about helping mothers and the now grown up adoptees to find each and reunite. There are some great characters in the book and good side stories also. Theres a good twist towards the end which I had partially guessed at (I thought though it would be Margo!). I couldn't put the kindle down once I started reading this. The book is a terrific depiction of the dark side of the Catholic Church's hold over a poor meek Irish population with the collusion of the state. Because the book is set in the present it demonstrates vividly how all this happened not very long ago. Many thanks to the author and Netgalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of Irish home for unwed mothers in the 70s

A retired nurse, Katie, who briefly worked at the Catholic home where young unwed mothers gave birth kept all the babies’ paper name bracelets. After her husband died, she and her niece, Beth, start the project of finding the babies(who are now middle aged) and reuniting them with their mothers.
The bulk of the book details the brutal way the young mothers were treated, and how they were shamed by the Catholic nuns in charge. The various connections made are heartwarming, other connections not made are sad.
Overall, I found the book depressing, and very sad, but a realistic read about unintended pregnancies only 50 years ago.
There were some positive outcomes. The book reinforces the power of a mother’s love that neither time, distance nor circumstance can change.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a well written book and it sucked me right in. A story that partly takes place in the early 1970’s and in present time. It’s about a “home “ when young girls and women went to have their baby’s after getting pregnant and not married!!! The shame that was placed on these young ladies just because they were pregnant and even if it was by rape!!! The home was ran by nuns who were horrible.
The story then switches back to present day about a nurse who worked there and she’s now trying to find the owners and mothers of the babies who wore the “paper bracelets” after being born there !!!
I was a teenager in the early 1970’s and had no idea things like that went on!
The ending I didn’t expect so I especially loved this book!! I don’t mind when I’m wrong about the ending!!!

[Ulla Ahlburg Madsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stærk og informativ bog om mor-baby hjemmene i Irland mellem 1922 and 1998.
Det er utroligt og helt ufatteligt, at sådanne hjem fungerede helt op i 90-erne. Det blev betragtet som ekstremt skamfuldt og syndigt i det katolske samfund at blive gravid uden for ægteskabet, og det blev udelukkende betragtet som den ugifte mors synd og skyld, - også selv om hun blev voldtaget.
Sådanne syndige kvinder skulle gemmes af vejen på hjem med katolske nonner, og de fødte børn enten døde af uforklarlige årsager eller blev adopteret bort til “gode katolske familier, der kunne give dem et bedre liv end syndige, ugifte mødre. “ Adoptionerne skete ofte mod de biologiske mødres vilje.
Bogen omhandler i fiktionsform konsekvenserne af disse umenneskelige institutioner og fortæller om børn af disse mødre, der senere forsøger at finde frem til deres biologiske forældre med større eller mindre held.
Jeg hørte bogen på Mofibo. Bogen er smukt oplæst med indlevelse.
Se evt. også dokumentaren “Nonnerne og de forsvundne børn” på Tv2, som fortæller om den virkelighed, bogen er baseret på.