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My Mother's Children
Irish Mancunian Carmel Doherty’s life is unravelling. She has just lost her mother Tess and brother Mikey, her marriage to Joe is coming apart at the seams and her thirty-year friendship with Karen is on the rocks.
While clearing out her childhood home, Carmel discovers that her mother gave birth to a baby in an Irish Mother and Baby home when she was sixteen, a place notorious for its mass burial of babies and illegal adoptions.
Carmel goes on a quest for the truth about her troubled mother’s past. Her roller-coaster journey takes her from her comfortable Manchester home to the west of Ireland and to London's theatre land. It’s a journey that leads her to ask: Can we ever escape our own family history or is our destiny in our DNA?
While clearing out her childhood home, Carmel discovers that her mother gave birth to a baby in an Irish Mother and Baby home when she was sixteen, a place notorious for its mass burial of babies and illegal adoptions.
Carmel goes on a quest for the truth about her troubled mother’s past. Her roller-coaster journey takes her from her comfortable Manchester home to the west of Ireland and to London's theatre land. It’s a journey that leads her to ask: Can we ever escape our own family history or is our destiny in our DNA?
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 24, 2021
59 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Annette Sills
3 books23 followersAnnette Sills was born in Wigan, Lancashire to parents from County Mayo, Ireland. Her short stories have been longlisted and shortlisted in a number of competitions including the Fish Short Story Prize, the Telegraph Short Story Club, Books Ireland Magazine and the emigration anthology Something about Home. Her first novel, The Relative Harmony of Julie O'Hagan was shortlisted in Rethink Press New Novels Competition 2014. Her second, My Mother's Children, was published by Poolbeg Press in March 2021. Annette currently lives in Manchester with her husband and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 2, 2021
I totally loved, Annette Sills book “My Mother's Children: An Irish family secret and the scars it left behind.” This book is not written but like it is crafted so you can feel life in Ireland and Manchester, UK.
This is a story of family psin, unrealized love and painful loss, and the hope finding new clues about the past. . Putting together pieces of a puzzle about a loss of a parent and a sibling, kept me enthralled throughout the book.
I loved how Sills writes about cemeteries, railroad station, the apartments, and especially the cafés and pops for those like me who have been there numerous times it really was like painting with words. Additionally’ the story is so crisp and realistic that it reads more like a memoir than historical fiction that it is. Even though is it uncomfortable topic, like the whole Holocaust, these stories need to be told and put in front of the public
In the book, C. Doherty,discovers dark secrets from her Irish mother’s past, as her life is falling apart.
The discovery of hundreds of bodies at the orphanages, especially the Magdelynn one is a sore wound for both the Irish people and the Catholic Church. It represents time on when some of the nuns and sisters were given too much power and were psychologically drunk with that power.
There are sexual scenes and Abusive behavior discussions. So I would be careful sharing this book with youth.
I love this book and I thought I think it would make a great movie.
I give it my highest recommendation
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is a story of family psin, unrealized love and painful loss, and the hope finding new clues about the past. . Putting together pieces of a puzzle about a loss of a parent and a sibling, kept me enthralled throughout the book.
I loved how Sills writes about cemeteries, railroad station, the apartments, and especially the cafés and pops for those like me who have been there numerous times it really was like painting with words. Additionally’ the story is so crisp and realistic that it reads more like a memoir than historical fiction that it is. Even though is it uncomfortable topic, like the whole Holocaust, these stories need to be told and put in front of the public
In the book, C. Doherty,discovers dark secrets from her Irish mother’s past, as her life is falling apart.
The discovery of hundreds of bodies at the orphanages, especially the Magdelynn one is a sore wound for both the Irish people and the Catholic Church. It represents time on when some of the nuns and sisters were given too much power and were psychologically drunk with that power.
There are sexual scenes and Abusive behavior discussions. So I would be careful sharing this book with youth.
I love this book and I thought I think it would make a great movie.
I give it my highest recommendation
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 2, 2021
A book on a very sad subject. I enjoyed it but thought it needed more detail
March 13, 2021
The author gives a story, although fictional, it gives us an idea of what really went on in Ireland when evil people abused and sold children. Talk about child trafficking this is one of the worst, or the bones of 800 children thrown in a septic tank, all true!
This is a story of family, love and loss, and finding new. Discovering after the loss of a parent and a sibling, that she has another brother she never knew about and a search filled with pain, and discovery.
Yes, I think this story should be told and we should remember what happened in Tauom, Ireland. The author gives us an idea of the heartache they caused with her moving family story, especially those that survived.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Poolbeg Press, and was not required to give a positive review.
This is a story of family, love and loss, and finding new. Discovering after the loss of a parent and a sibling, that she has another brother she never knew about and a search filled with pain, and discovery.
Yes, I think this story should be told and we should remember what happened in Tauom, Ireland. The author gives us an idea of the heartache they caused with her moving family story, especially those that survived.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Poolbeg Press, and was not required to give a positive review.
March 25, 2021
The cover of this book features a probably wooden table top with a photograph of a young boy laid on it. The boy’s face has been obscured/erased in the photograph. There are pretty little blue flowers around the photograph that I think are forget-me-nots which would be super relevant to the content of the book. The genres listed for this book are General Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction & Women’s Fiction which all fit well. Of course, the book is based on the true story of the Irish Mother & Baby homes, but the way the author writes it makes it feel personal, as if she knows someone that has gone though, what one of the main character Tess endured.
The main character of Carmel has to empty her mother Tess’s old home as she has died. The one item of furniture she has decided to is the record player, which is described perfectly, in fact my parents had one similar to the one described in the book. Carmel isn’t sure why but she decides at the last minute to have one last look through it. It is whilst doing so that she finds an old letter. The letter is from her father to her mother, the think that strikes Carmel as strange is the address that the letter was sent to, a mother & baby home. This sets Carmel thinking why her mother has never spoken about the baby she had and why her parents just didn’t get married. Using the letter and clues she gleans from it she works out the era her mum was in the mother & baby home, and another woman is mentioned as she is the one smuggling letters in and out of the home for her parents. Carmel is naturally a little stunned and doesn’t read much into a conversation she has with one of her mum’s neighbours, but that conversation makes much more sense to Carmel later, further into her investigation and search for her older sibling. Carmel is eager to find her sibling as she feels so alone now her mother has died and prior to that her beloved brother also died from a heart condition. Luckily the gene connected to this hereditary heart condition is not present in Carmel. Carmel travels to Ireland, staying with her Aunt Julia. Julia reveals that she knew about the baby boy Tess had in the Mother & Baby Home in Tuam and shows Carmel a list of babies that died. In fact, she also shows her newspaper articles about the scandal of babies, bodies being found buried in the home’s grounds. It turns out that Tess had found out that her son was on the list of babies that did not survive despite being told by those at Tuam at the time that the baby was being adopted. Carmel has a very emotional visit to a shrine made in the Tuam Home grounds. Just when Carmel thinks everything is over, she decides to speak to the brave woman who smuggled letters in and out of the home and discovers that perhaps her brother could still be alive despite being on the list of dead. During her search for her brother Carmel does reconnect with other family members and learns more about her mother and father too.
All the while this is going on Carmel is struggling within her own marital relationship, and her best friend is becoming more and more distant from her, she truly feels alone in her search. Maybe that’s why it takes her a while to see what has been happening right under her own nose. I think her search for information about her sibling keeps her going and prevents her from become depressed herself. It’s not long since her mother’s death, before that was her brother’s death. Carmel worries she may end up with mental health issues herself, much like her mother. However, the more she searches, the more obvious it becomes what triggered her mother’s depression.
This book really does cover a lot of quite controversial subjects, from religion, unwed mothers, homosexuality, adultery, depression, and relationships. I found the book thought provoking on a lot of different levels, and it had me questioning how many women still wonder about where the children ripped from their arms in these institutions are? How many of these children have lost opportunities to meet or learn about their biological parents? I have read quite a few books set around the infamous Magdalene Laundries/Mother & Baby Homes, this one came across as really realistic and I felt tugged in and invested in the plot very early on. I felt myself thinking about those women and their babies long after I had finished reading.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were that I had really loved reading a sad, sad story based around true events. So much going on. A look at Ireland, mentions of the mother & baby homes particularly the one in Tuam and the stigma surrounding unwed mothers, babies born out of wedlock, homosexuality, religion, and mental health.....I loved the very end though had kind of guessed at what would happen.
To sum up, I really enjoyed reading this book even though it is a quite sad story. It’s difficult to believe that young women were hidden away and their babies taken from them and adopted. The cruelty they had to put up with from the Catholic Church was horrendous. In fact, I think it’s no wonder Tess had mental health problems in the book with all that she went through. Another horrid thought is that all this was going on only a few decades ago. I think this fictional book is all the more poignant and at times heart-breaking when you know it is based on facts.
The main character of Carmel has to empty her mother Tess’s old home as she has died. The one item of furniture she has decided to is the record player, which is described perfectly, in fact my parents had one similar to the one described in the book. Carmel isn’t sure why but she decides at the last minute to have one last look through it. It is whilst doing so that she finds an old letter. The letter is from her father to her mother, the think that strikes Carmel as strange is the address that the letter was sent to, a mother & baby home. This sets Carmel thinking why her mother has never spoken about the baby she had and why her parents just didn’t get married. Using the letter and clues she gleans from it she works out the era her mum was in the mother & baby home, and another woman is mentioned as she is the one smuggling letters in and out of the home for her parents. Carmel is naturally a little stunned and doesn’t read much into a conversation she has with one of her mum’s neighbours, but that conversation makes much more sense to Carmel later, further into her investigation and search for her older sibling. Carmel is eager to find her sibling as she feels so alone now her mother has died and prior to that her beloved brother also died from a heart condition. Luckily the gene connected to this hereditary heart condition is not present in Carmel. Carmel travels to Ireland, staying with her Aunt Julia. Julia reveals that she knew about the baby boy Tess had in the Mother & Baby Home in Tuam and shows Carmel a list of babies that died. In fact, she also shows her newspaper articles about the scandal of babies, bodies being found buried in the home’s grounds. It turns out that Tess had found out that her son was on the list of babies that did not survive despite being told by those at Tuam at the time that the baby was being adopted. Carmel has a very emotional visit to a shrine made in the Tuam Home grounds. Just when Carmel thinks everything is over, she decides to speak to the brave woman who smuggled letters in and out of the home and discovers that perhaps her brother could still be alive despite being on the list of dead. During her search for her brother Carmel does reconnect with other family members and learns more about her mother and father too.
All the while this is going on Carmel is struggling within her own marital relationship, and her best friend is becoming more and more distant from her, she truly feels alone in her search. Maybe that’s why it takes her a while to see what has been happening right under her own nose. I think her search for information about her sibling keeps her going and prevents her from become depressed herself. It’s not long since her mother’s death, before that was her brother’s death. Carmel worries she may end up with mental health issues herself, much like her mother. However, the more she searches, the more obvious it becomes what triggered her mother’s depression.
This book really does cover a lot of quite controversial subjects, from religion, unwed mothers, homosexuality, adultery, depression, and relationships. I found the book thought provoking on a lot of different levels, and it had me questioning how many women still wonder about where the children ripped from their arms in these institutions are? How many of these children have lost opportunities to meet or learn about their biological parents? I have read quite a few books set around the infamous Magdalene Laundries/Mother & Baby Homes, this one came across as really realistic and I felt tugged in and invested in the plot very early on. I felt myself thinking about those women and their babies long after I had finished reading.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were that I had really loved reading a sad, sad story based around true events. So much going on. A look at Ireland, mentions of the mother & baby homes particularly the one in Tuam and the stigma surrounding unwed mothers, babies born out of wedlock, homosexuality, religion, and mental health.....I loved the very end though had kind of guessed at what would happen.
To sum up, I really enjoyed reading this book even though it is a quite sad story. It’s difficult to believe that young women were hidden away and their babies taken from them and adopted. The cruelty they had to put up with from the Catholic Church was horrendous. In fact, I think it’s no wonder Tess had mental health problems in the book with all that she went through. Another horrid thought is that all this was going on only a few decades ago. I think this fictional book is all the more poignant and at times heart-breaking when you know it is based on facts.
August 2, 2021
I found this book to be an enjoyable read. My Mother's Children is a book that shines a light on the way family's secrets and scars never truly go away until they are addressed and confronted. I loved the characters in the story and I felt it was realistic to show how an individual can have trauma in their past and present to deal with. Despite the fact it deals with upsetting issues and experiences of sadness and loss it is an enjoyable book to read.
May 8, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
The history of the mother and baby homes always holds a lot of tragedy and this fictional portrayal does as well. The falsified death records, the selling of babies, it all makes people's lives and histories very difficult to unravel.
Not to give any spoilers, I'll just say there are other major events that happen in Carmel's life while she is digging to find the truth of her family.
The history of the mother and baby homes always holds a lot of tragedy and this fictional portrayal does as well. The falsified death records, the selling of babies, it all makes people's lives and histories very difficult to unravel.
Not to give any spoilers, I'll just say there are other major events that happen in Carmel's life while she is digging to find the truth of her family.
March 31, 2021
At first I was afraid this was going to be a little depressing. It’s a year into the global pandemic and I didn’t want depressing. Granted the theme of the book was very sad, the book itself was not. Carmel is the main heroine of the book. Carmel has suffered a lot of loss in her twenty/thirty plus years. She and her husband are trying to decide if they want to have children. The book reads almost like Carmel’s biography, in a good way. Her extended family definitely has drama and Carmel is involved in most of it. She grows so much as a person in this book that it became a true page turner for me. I did receive an advanced copy of this book for free, and am leaving my honest review voluntarily, but I will recommend to friends and family. And I would read another book from this author.
March 29, 2021
This is written in language UK is used to so many of the words and phrases I didn’t know what it meant, but you can figure out by the rest of the words.
This does have some sexual issues and a little abuse is talked about so I would not recommend this to advanced preteen reading young people.
This book will grab you the first few pages and take you to the cafes, the flats, the cemetery etc. making you feel like your there feeling every emotion.
And the research on Baby and Mothers homes was great. I had never heard of them so I learned quite a bit now I’m interested in researching myself.
Job well done.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This does have some sexual issues and a little abuse is talked about so I would not recommend this to advanced preteen reading young people.
This book will grab you the first few pages and take you to the cafes, the flats, the cemetery etc. making you feel like your there feeling every emotion.
And the research on Baby and Mothers homes was great. I had never heard of them so I learned quite a bit now I’m interested in researching myself.
Job well done.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 24, 2021
This book deals with just over a year in the life of Carmel Doherty who, in uncovering dark secrets from her Irish mother’s past, begins to find her own life falling apart. We read how tragic events reverberate down the generations. The pacy narrative includes lots of twists and is, by turns, both heart-wrenching and heart-warming.
Manchester with its metropolitan buzz and beautiful, rural Ireland play starring roles and give this novel a real sense of time and place. I loved it!
Manchester with its metropolitan buzz and beautiful, rural Ireland play starring roles and give this novel a real sense of time and place. I loved it!
May 2, 2021
Poignant, sassy page turner.
When Carmel Doherty learns that her deceased Irish mother had a baby in the notorious Tuam mother and baby home in County Mayo - she also discovers that her husband is having an affair with her best friend. As Carmel travels back to Ireland to discover the secrets of her fragile mother’s past, and to determine the fate of the baby brother she never knew, her life begins to unravel. This is a well written, compelling story, sassily told that poignantly illustrates how the children of Irish emigrants can subliminally inherit the shame associated with these terrible events. Set between rural Ireland, Manchester and London, it also reflects what it means to be 2nd generation Irish, proudly proclaiming a heritage of a country that, in many cases, then and now, has turned their back on them. A very thought provoking and enjoyable read. I would recommend this novel.
When Carmel Doherty learns that her deceased Irish mother had a baby in the notorious Tuam mother and baby home in County Mayo - she also discovers that her husband is having an affair with her best friend. As Carmel travels back to Ireland to discover the secrets of her fragile mother’s past, and to determine the fate of the baby brother she never knew, her life begins to unravel. This is a well written, compelling story, sassily told that poignantly illustrates how the children of Irish emigrants can subliminally inherit the shame associated with these terrible events. Set between rural Ireland, Manchester and London, it also reflects what it means to be 2nd generation Irish, proudly proclaiming a heritage of a country that, in many cases, then and now, has turned their back on them. A very thought provoking and enjoyable read. I would recommend this novel.
May 20, 2021
Irish Mancunian Carmel Doherty’s life is unravelling. She has just lost her mother Tess and brother Mikey, her marriage to Joe is coming apart at the seams and her thirty-year friendship with Karen is on the rocks. While clearing out her childhood home, Carmel discovers that her mother gave birth to a baby in an Irish Mother and Baby home when she was sixteen, a place notorious for its mass burial of babies and illegal adoptions. Carmel goes on a quest for the truth about her troubled mother’s past. Her roller-coaster journey takes her from her comfortable Manchester home to the west of Ireland and to London's theatre land. It’s a journey that leads her to ask: Can we ever escape our own family history or is our destiny in our DNA?
The story follows the protagonist Carmel Doherty for just over a year while she uncovers the dark secrets from her mother’s past and the reader gets to live through these tragic events reverberating down through generations of families. It is an absorbing and encompassing story that trulky begins with a woman discovering a letter while looking through her mother’s possessions after she has passed away. The narrative is fast paced and includes twists and unwelcomed events as well as soul-destroying and heart-warming moments and revelations.
Although this story is a work of fiction, sadly the period of time and the institution with which it talks about is not. The Magdalene Laundries and Asylums were awful places that abused and destroyed young girls and women and the author encompasses this superbly.
These Irish homes that were established to help unwed mothers for over four decades were extremely harsh and cruel places to be especially the one featured in the story at Tuam. It is hard for us to imagine the pain, sorrow and suffering that went on in these institutions and the neglect and the abuse felt by both the women and the children at the hands of the people that were meant to care for them.
I found this book heart-breaking and I couldn’t put it down. I would definitely recommend this to other readers and I would award this book 5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
The story follows the protagonist Carmel Doherty for just over a year while she uncovers the dark secrets from her mother’s past and the reader gets to live through these tragic events reverberating down through generations of families. It is an absorbing and encompassing story that trulky begins with a woman discovering a letter while looking through her mother’s possessions after she has passed away. The narrative is fast paced and includes twists and unwelcomed events as well as soul-destroying and heart-warming moments and revelations.
Although this story is a work of fiction, sadly the period of time and the institution with which it talks about is not. The Magdalene Laundries and Asylums were awful places that abused and destroyed young girls and women and the author encompasses this superbly.
These Irish homes that were established to help unwed mothers for over four decades were extremely harsh and cruel places to be especially the one featured in the story at Tuam. It is hard for us to imagine the pain, sorrow and suffering that went on in these institutions and the neglect and the abuse felt by both the women and the children at the hands of the people that were meant to care for them.
I found this book heart-breaking and I couldn’t put it down. I would definitely recommend this to other readers and I would award this book 5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 8, 2021
I’ve read a few books on the Magdalene asylums or laundries, and the mothers and children forced to stay there. The history of the Irish babies born out of wedlock into appalling conditions is both shocking and interesting, so this book had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to expectations.
I liked the story itself, but struggled with the writing style. Parts of it were vague, with a lack of description and aspects of the story felt rushed. Yet at the same time there were a lot of unnecessary details included.
There were a lot of stories running parallel to the lost baby, as Carmel battles with friendship, anxiety, marriage issues and grief. This detracted from the key messages and diluted the emotional effect of the book.
The characters were unlikeable, which didn’t make it easy to relate to them, or to sympathise with their situations. The ending was not as happy as I’d been expecting, but i quite liked that, as it made the overall story more realistic and gritty.
If you’re interested in the stories of the lost Magdalene children, this is a fairly good introduction, but the main focus is on the descendants and their life.
I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the story itself, but struggled with the writing style. Parts of it were vague, with a lack of description and aspects of the story felt rushed. Yet at the same time there were a lot of unnecessary details included.
There were a lot of stories running parallel to the lost baby, as Carmel battles with friendship, anxiety, marriage issues and grief. This detracted from the key messages and diluted the emotional effect of the book.
The characters were unlikeable, which didn’t make it easy to relate to them, or to sympathise with their situations. The ending was not as happy as I’d been expecting, but i quite liked that, as it made the overall story more realistic and gritty.
If you’re interested in the stories of the lost Magdalene children, this is a fairly good introduction, but the main focus is on the descendants and their life.
I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 8, 2021
Loved this book, quick read I couldn’t put it down. It deals with the sad story of Irelands mother & baby homes and how this terrible time in history has affects not only the mothers mental well being but overflowed into later generations.
You get a real sense of what evil things the Catholic Church inflicted on these poor women, and how hopeless their situation was.
The story is written from the point of view of Carmel whos mom recently passed away. While going through her Moms belongings, she stumble upon papers that show her Mom spent time in a mother and baby home in the west of Ireland where she is from before emigrating to Manchester in 1960s.
Carmel sets out to find out if she still has a sibling and unearths some long lost family secrets.
You get a real sense of what evil things the Catholic Church inflicted on these poor women, and how hopeless their situation was.
The story is written from the point of view of Carmel whos mom recently passed away. While going through her Moms belongings, she stumble upon papers that show her Mom spent time in a mother and baby home in the west of Ireland where she is from before emigrating to Manchester in 1960s.
Carmel sets out to find out if she still has a sibling and unearths some long lost family secrets.
April 17, 2021
A heart wrenching story of the cruelty the Irish nuns and priests forced upon vulnerable young ladies and the horror of what these pregnant girls had to endure A tale of Tess who was forced to give up her child to adoption and how it was kept a secret until she died and then her daughter unravels the mystery surrounding her long lost sibling Wonderfully written and a happy ending, I really enjoyed reading this book
May 13, 2021
Great Read! Well observed and written.
As I live in the same town as the character (and indeed the author) it was completely accurate! Why make up a fictitious scene when one exists in reality. Coming from Irish catholic heritage similar to the character grounded the story and brought to life the horrors I’d heard on RTE radio which my parents listen to daily. Further confirms how many people all around us were victims of this atrocity.
As I live in the same town as the character (and indeed the author) it was completely accurate! Why make up a fictitious scene when one exists in reality. Coming from Irish catholic heritage similar to the character grounded the story and brought to life the horrors I’d heard on RTE radio which my parents listen to daily. Further confirms how many people all around us were victims of this atrocity.
May 6, 2021
A book about secrets and finding yourself even through the path to get there is not easy. The treatment of unwed mothers and their babies is a sad part of Ireland’s history. This book unravels the past about Carmel’s mother but in doing so brings to light Carmel’s own past and enables her move forward .
January 2, 2022
A heartbreaking story of the Magdalene mother and baby homes and Carmel's quest to find her unknown sibling. An emotional book that draws you in and highlights the appalling treatment of unmarried mothers in Ireland but is well written so is interesting and compelling rather than depressing
May 19, 2021
Good read
I enjoyed this book from the start I love the characters their names the story was very touching from the start
I enjoyed this book from the start I love the characters their names the story was very touching from the start
March 26, 2021
Absorbing story of a woman who discovers a shocking letter while going through her late mother's things and embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind its mystery. Along the way, Carmel's closest relationships become sorely tested and new ones are formed. There are twists, an unwelcomed turn of events, and heart-warming revelations. Although fiction, the institution at the heart of the story is not.
The Irish homes established to help unwed mothers and their children from the 1920s up to the 60s, specifically the one at Tuam, which is highlighted in this story, have recently been exposed as cruel and punishing. It's hard to imagine the abuse and neglect the mothers and innocent children faced while in their care. Carmel's story follows one thread, but there must be hundreds more. I found it hard to put the book down at about the half-way mark. After a few surprises that show up toward the end of the book, the conclusion is satisfying and wraps up nicely.
Thank you to Netgalley.com and Poolbeg Press for an ebook Advanced Reader Copy.
The Irish homes established to help unwed mothers and their children from the 1920s up to the 60s, specifically the one at Tuam, which is highlighted in this story, have recently been exposed as cruel and punishing. It's hard to imagine the abuse and neglect the mothers and innocent children faced while in their care. Carmel's story follows one thread, but there must be hundreds more. I found it hard to put the book down at about the half-way mark. After a few surprises that show up toward the end of the book, the conclusion is satisfying and wraps up nicely.
Thank you to Netgalley.com and Poolbeg Press for an ebook Advanced Reader Copy.
March 19, 2021
My Mother's Children by Annette Sills
Carmel's entire family is gone. They have all died over the years from accidents or natural causes. Her mother and brother have died recently and she is emptying the house out, so it can be sold. Carmel is a second-generation Irish lass who was born in England.
Carmel and her husband Joe are having problems. Her best friend Karen has become unfriendly, all of the sudden. A lot of things suddenly pile up upon Carmel and she feels overwhelmed. She finds out that her mother had been an unwilling resident of a Mother-Baby home in Ireland, a place that a mass grave of 800+ babies and small children were buried in. Carmel begins to figure out the reasons for her mother's mental issues that she had suffered from, all of Carmel's life.
With no strong ties to her home with Joe, she heads to Ireland and begins to investigate what happened to lead her mother to be imprisoned at the home and how it changed her family. She finds out that she had an older brother, who possibly perished at the Home.
Relying on senior citizen's memories of the accounts that involved her parents so long ago, Carmel starts to find out the truth for herself.
This was a pretty good book, it has some historical facts, about the Mother-Baby homes and what happened to the poor women and their babies. The Irish history was interesting. Very sad, but good.
I received a complimentary copy from #netgalley #irishfiction @netgalley of and was under no obligation to post a review.
Carmel's entire family is gone. They have all died over the years from accidents or natural causes. Her mother and brother have died recently and she is emptying the house out, so it can be sold. Carmel is a second-generation Irish lass who was born in England.
Carmel and her husband Joe are having problems. Her best friend Karen has become unfriendly, all of the sudden. A lot of things suddenly pile up upon Carmel and she feels overwhelmed. She finds out that her mother had been an unwilling resident of a Mother-Baby home in Ireland, a place that a mass grave of 800+ babies and small children were buried in. Carmel begins to figure out the reasons for her mother's mental issues that she had suffered from, all of Carmel's life.
With no strong ties to her home with Joe, she heads to Ireland and begins to investigate what happened to lead her mother to be imprisoned at the home and how it changed her family. She finds out that she had an older brother, who possibly perished at the Home.
Relying on senior citizen's memories of the accounts that involved her parents so long ago, Carmel starts to find out the truth for herself.
This was a pretty good book, it has some historical facts, about the Mother-Baby homes and what happened to the poor women and their babies. The Irish history was interesting. Very sad, but good.
I received a complimentary copy from #netgalley #irishfiction @netgalley of and was under no obligation to post a review.
April 12, 2021
A fantastic and moving story set across Manchester and Ireland. Wonderfully rich characterisation and a story that has you gripped to the end. Beautiful writing. I want more from this most talented of authors - soon please!
August 21, 2021
Wow Wow Wow - incredibly well written book
Incredible story. Full of heartbreak but so well written and so enlightening of the difficult and heartbreaking suffering of many. Thoroughly enjoyed this book and just couldn.t put it down. Well worth reading and highly recommend
Incredible story. Full of heartbreak but so well written and so enlightening of the difficult and heartbreaking suffering of many. Thoroughly enjoyed this book and just couldn.t put it down. Well worth reading and highly recommend
June 2, 2021
The story about family, relationships and loss kept my attention the entire book. Sills does a great job keeping the story flowing through different times and locations. The story around the Irish Mother and Baby Home was something I was unaware of and have recently learned happened in Canada also by the Catholic church. Such a sad and moving part of her story. There are several controversial subjects that give much food for thought and a great book club discussion! Thank you Library Thing for an opportunity to read and review this new book.
January 12, 2023
I was captivated straight away!
I couldn't put this down! The story is about Carmel whose marriage of 20 years is breaking down her friendship with her bestfriend is on the rocks and her mother and brother have recently passed away.
She was very close to them both.
As she is clearing her mums house she comes across a letter which changes everything.
She finds out her mother had a secret baby in Ireland when she was 16 in one of the mother and baby homes which were run by the church at the time. Why did her mum keep this a secret? Carmel always thought they were close. Perhaps this is why her mum suffered mental illnesses throughout her life she must have had to give this baby up which caused her a lot of mental trauma. But the more Carmel starts digging up the past about the mother and baby homes she finds out there were illegal adoptions and a mass grave of 800 babies.
The truth about what happened to her mothers baby seems like a sad ending and one she will never find out!
Carmel will need to keep digging if she is to find out what happened to her secret brother all those years ago. I will not say anymore but you will have to read the book to find out what happens next!
I would highly recommend reading this book you will not be disappointed.
I hadn't read much about the mother and baby homes from the past but after reading this book I definitely want to find out more about this part of history that is rarely spoken about.
Thank you net galley for this copy and an honest review.
I couldn't put this down! The story is about Carmel whose marriage of 20 years is breaking down her friendship with her bestfriend is on the rocks and her mother and brother have recently passed away.
She was very close to them both.
As she is clearing her mums house she comes across a letter which changes everything.
She finds out her mother had a secret baby in Ireland when she was 16 in one of the mother and baby homes which were run by the church at the time. Why did her mum keep this a secret? Carmel always thought they were close. Perhaps this is why her mum suffered mental illnesses throughout her life she must have had to give this baby up which caused her a lot of mental trauma. But the more Carmel starts digging up the past about the mother and baby homes she finds out there were illegal adoptions and a mass grave of 800 babies.
The truth about what happened to her mothers baby seems like a sad ending and one she will never find out!
Carmel will need to keep digging if she is to find out what happened to her secret brother all those years ago. I will not say anymore but you will have to read the book to find out what happens next!
I would highly recommend reading this book you will not be disappointed.
I hadn't read much about the mother and baby homes from the past but after reading this book I definitely want to find out more about this part of history that is rarely spoken about.
Thank you net galley for this copy and an honest review.
August 10, 2021
"My Mother's Children '' opens with Carmel Doherty in free fall. Mikey, the brother she loved so much, has died unexpectedly. Her mother, Tess, passed away soon after as much from a broken heart as anything else. Carmel's depression and increased drinking is putting a strain on her marriage, her friendships and her job. As she says in the book, she unravelled, stitch after stitch.
In going through Tess's things she is shocked to discover her mother had given birth to another brother back in Ireland. The horrifying Mother and Baby Home / Magdalene Laundry chapter of Irish history rears its ugly head here. We learn that when Tess became pregnant at age sixteen she was sent by her family and priest to be taken care in by the nuns. There she was beaten and abused until her baby was torn from her, most probably adopted. The fate of that baby haunted Tess until her dying day.
The anguish and mental repercussions suffered by Tess are heartbreaking. We are more intrigued by her as Carmel focuses on finding out what happened to her brother. There is also a lot to like about Carmel, especially the way she picks herself up from despair and pushes onward. We do see her marital problems much earlier than she does, however, and frankly those passages are not nearly as strong or interesting as the rest of the storyline.
Four stars. Annette Sills shows us the human cost for the blind faith people put into the Church in Ireland. God bless Tess and the thousands like her trampled in the name of propriety.
Thank you to Poolbeg Press and BookSirens. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
In going through Tess's things she is shocked to discover her mother had given birth to another brother back in Ireland. The horrifying Mother and Baby Home / Magdalene Laundry chapter of Irish history rears its ugly head here. We learn that when Tess became pregnant at age sixteen she was sent by her family and priest to be taken care in by the nuns. There she was beaten and abused until her baby was torn from her, most probably adopted. The fate of that baby haunted Tess until her dying day.
The anguish and mental repercussions suffered by Tess are heartbreaking. We are more intrigued by her as Carmel focuses on finding out what happened to her brother. There is also a lot to like about Carmel, especially the way she picks herself up from despair and pushes onward. We do see her marital problems much earlier than she does, however, and frankly those passages are not nearly as strong or interesting as the rest of the storyline.
Four stars. Annette Sills shows us the human cost for the blind faith people put into the Church in Ireland. God bless Tess and the thousands like her trampled in the name of propriety.
Thank you to Poolbeg Press and BookSirens. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 19, 2021
This story moved along at a decent pace, which is good since it would otherwise be hard to slog through. I found the book to be very dismal with only occasional short and slight uplifting sections. I found the main character to be unsympathetic despite the fact that she had recently lost the last members of her family and had problems with her husband and with her best friend. She was quite a mess of a character but not consistently a mess that I could identify with. She was depressed at one point but having seen depression first hand, I just didn't find it well-described. She drank too much but didn't seem to be labeled as an alcoholic, merely went on major benders several times within the story. The inclusion of the Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland, which is a brutally true story, seemed it might be what the author really wanted to write the book about and in my opinion rather failed in fleshing out the characters of the novel.
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book. The review is my own.
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book. The review is my own.
April 8, 2022
Unrealistic and marred by other themes spoiler alert
My fault but I didn't check before reading the genre and thought it was a memoir rather than a novel. I didn't realise my error until the situation with Dan. Then I knew it was fiction! Why when writing a book that could have been amazing and a fairly realistic interpretation of stories of this time; although it get a bit muddied with other unnecessary story lines; did it have to go so obvious and ridiculously unrealistic as to her having met on a number of occasions a radom man, that then turns out to be her brother! Not sure that we needed all the names of the pubs and restaurants visited especially not if they were fictional as well. The storyline running along side somewhat detracted from the main story which is powerful on it's own with out the need for distractions.
My fault but I didn't check before reading the genre and thought it was a memoir rather than a novel. I didn't realise my error until the situation with Dan. Then I knew it was fiction! Why when writing a book that could have been amazing and a fairly realistic interpretation of stories of this time; although it get a bit muddied with other unnecessary story lines; did it have to go so obvious and ridiculously unrealistic as to her having met on a number of occasions a radom man, that then turns out to be her brother! Not sure that we needed all the names of the pubs and restaurants visited especially not if they were fictional as well. The storyline running along side somewhat detracted from the main story which is powerful on it's own with out the need for distractions.
July 12, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. I wish it had less foul language, but I enjoyed the plot. A great story about the strength of family bonds and forgiveness.
May 4, 2021
I couldn't get through one more "my parent died so let me take this random object across the globe and investigate the life they had before I was ever born" I'm sick of it, so much so, in fact, that I'm nauseous. I apologise to the author, but I didn't know the market was going to be saturated with these whenever I requested this ARC. It's fine technically speaking, but I'm not enjoying myself so I'm just gonna stop where I'm at.
Thanks netgalley for giving me the pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡
Thanks netgalley for giving me the pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡
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