Vow of Silence: A convent home run by monsters and a secret that haunted us for 50 years

by Suzanne Walsh

*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*Early praise for Vow of 'A beautifully written memoir. Honest, compelling, heartbreaking and inspiring, her words stay with you.' Joanne Froggatt'A riveting story.' Molly Shannon'This heart wrenching story kept me riveted from start to finish.' Kristin Chenoweth'A deeply powerful and harrowing memoir that will remain with you long after the final page.' John Marrs-

Suzanne Walsh was a survivor.She suffered five heart attacks and made it through open heart surgery. But even that pales in comparison to the horrors she faced as a young girl.Her childhood became the ‘stuff of nightmares’ after her father passed away and her mother, unable to get a job in Ireland, had to seek work in London. So ‘Mammy’ was forced into the heartbreaking decision to put Suzanne and her five siblings into church-run orphanages in Dublin while she worked away. It was just meant to be temporary.Her life soon became a daily struggle to avoid beatings with canes and rosary beads. Suzanne and the other children worked from dawn until midnight, living on disgusting scraps of food, while the nuns dined on fresh fruit, meat and cakes that the ‘orphans’ had cooked for them. Suzanne tried her best to shield her younger sisters from the terror of these hateful ‘women of God’. But it was only the beginning of their troubles…Eventually, their mother returned from London, after four years, with enough money to take her children out and the family was reunited. However, too scared to speak out, the children vowed to take the horrors they had experienced at the orphanages to their graves.What really happened behind those church doors? This is Suzanne's heartbreaking and touching story.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 19, 2021

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Vow of Silence, Suzanne Walsh writes about the heartbreaking atrocities she and her siblings faced in orphanages in Dublin. After her father dies, her mother is forced to seek temporary work in England, and Suzanne, her 2 brothers, and 3 sisters are sent to orphanages. The boys and girls are separated, and the author doesn’t provide much detail on her brothers’ experiences. However, she provides a plethora of details on the miserable conditions and experiences that her sisters and she endured as well as the life lasting effects of those stays.

The conditions described are awful. I commend the author for opening up and sharing her horrendous experiences with us.

There is a good amount of repetition in the book, including multiple passages that appear a couple of times and seem almost verbatim. This detracted from the overall strength of the book for me, and, thus, I rated it 3 stars instead of 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Grace J Reviewerlady · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly horrific memoir.

Suzanne was just a wee girl when her Daddy died, leaving her mother in dire financial straits. The only way she could make ends meet was to place her children into the care of the nuns, allowing her to earn money across the water and hopefully be able to all be reunited one day. The loving, caring image which the nuns cultivated publicly was completely different to what they were like when they were left alone with the children. This is Suzanne’s story.

I don’t read stories of abuse; it’s just something I don’t do. However, the tales of the Magdalene Laundries has always niggled at me, so I found it very hard to turn down the offer of a review copy of this book. For anyone with the smallest piece of compassion in their soul – which, as a mother and grandmother I like to think I possess – will cringe in horror at the way these children were maltreated. I have the greatest respect for Suzanne Walsh for speaking out and making sure she wrote this book, and for her daughter Melissa for ensuring it was published. My heart broke for these children and the harsh environment they found themselves a part of, and for their Mother who trusted other women to care for her children little knowing what they were being subjected to. I won’t say I enjoyed this one, but I am glad I read it; these are the things we should all know about. 4.5*.

[Kath Steel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harsh memoir of yet more brutality carried out by nuns hiding behind the name of the Church. Well done to Suzanne Walsh in being strong enough to record this story of herself and her 3 sisters and to Melissa for ensuring it was published. A heartbreaking record of how lives can be changed by the roll of a dice and how everything you've been brought up to believe is good and safe turns out to be all you didn't want, expect or need - your worst nightmare come true. I've read some of the stories written about the Magdalene laundries and this book is on a level with the hideous behaviours of the nuns in the laundries that we've heard about. I still find it difficult to understand why the nuns could be so brutal and bitter whilst operating in positions where their envisioned role was to protect and care for some of society's most vulnerable members, and the lack of guidance, help, understanding and compassion offered to these children in their care was almost beyond belief. The few references made to Suzanne's brothers and the total disregard the boys received from the Christian Brothers was an eye opening revelation, but I guess they were less repressed and abused than the girls who found themselves in the care of the nuns running the two orphanages in Dublin so were more able to adjust to life outside of the institutions when they were able to leave.
It was a fascinating if cruel subject and well written. Once I started to read it I found it hard to put the book down until I had finished. It was good that the girls came out of the experience better than some, although some of the emotional scars were deep seated and hard to deal with. A book well worth reading.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really harrowing true tale of years spent in an orphanage run by Catholic nuns.

[margaret walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read

10 out of 10 for this boo,k and the author, I couldn't put it down . being a victim of the nuns at the Catholic school I went to as a child I know exactly what they were like ,caning and ridiculing you for absolutely nothing .I hated them with a vengeance but at least I managed to leave that school age nine to go to a better one without the evil nuns .I can't imagine what it must have been like for you and your sisters and brothers .

[maryhiggins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unbrlievable

Why Did their Mam not know or see their injuries. Why did she have e to emigrate to work as a Secretary.Durely she could have gotten work as a cleaner or other menial work that would keep her family together .I appreciate the nuns were brutes animals but where was Mam

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down! It is a very vivid and psychologically astute account of why the abusive nuns behaved as they did to those they were supposed to care for. They were turned into monsters by the twisted fanaticism of the Catholic Church which brainwashed and dehumanised them until they were twisted inside and took their misery out on their defenceless charges.

[Payal Jani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the content and I sympathised with the characters. They suffered through unimaginable trauma. More often than not I enjoy dark non fiction. But I found many parts of the book were repetitive and in some instances a few facts were just added in without a flow to the story. This book had more potential.

[jennifer graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Courage among the dark days of the orphanage

A very moving story of the evil of the Catholic Church and evil nuns the strength and spirt of the family were never broken glad suzy got to live a happy life in the end

[Chenise Mathei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartbreaking story but the writing itself was slightly repetitive and sometimes lacked drive. Took a while to get through.

[Sara Mcmillan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't finish the book .