Stolen from Her Mother: An utterly heartbreaking World War Two page-turner set between Ireland and America by Rachel Wesson

 

Galway, Ireland. 1941: While war rages across the world, Kate struggles on her family farm by the wild Atlantic Ocean. Living off rations and looking after her sick father, she doesn’t dare dream of falling in love.

But when she meets American airman, Tony, whose blue eyes are as stormy as the sea, her life collides with the war in ways she never imagined… They fall madly in love, stealing kisses in the rolling fields, and Tony vows to make her his wife.

Their time is cut short when Tony leaves for war, promising to come back for her. Only then does Kate learn she is carrying his child––but when her family find out, she is shunned and banished to a Magdalen Laundry.

Imprisoned in the home for unmarried mothers, where the windows are covered in barbed wire, the girls survive on scraps and sleep in a crammed dormitory. Kate writes to Tony to tell him about their child, but she never hears back… Is he even still alive?

And when she gives birth to baby Eve, Kate’s worst nightmare comes true: her precious child is sold to a stranger. But she made a promise to her darling daughter, and she’ll never stop looking for her. Can Kate escape, save her child and reunite her family before it’s too late?

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About The Author

 

Rachel Wesson is the author of several best selling series including her latest based on the Orphan Trains. Having always been a fan of history, Rachel tries to combine her love of history with a good story.

Rachel Wesson was born in Kilkenny, Ireland but considers herself to be from the capital, Dublin as that’s where she spent most of her life. Her dad brought Rachel and her two sisters out every Saturday to give their mother a break. He took them to the library and for ice-cream after. It took a long time for her sisters to forgive her for the hours she spent choosing her books!

She grew up driving everyone nuts asking them questions about what they did during the War or what side they were on in the 1916 rising etc. Finally her Granny told her to write her stories down so people would get the pleasure of reading them. In fact what Granny meant was everyone would get some peace while Rachel was busy writing!

When not writing, or annoying relatives, Rachel was reading. Her report cards from school commented on her love of reading especially when she should have been learning. Seems you can't read Great Expectations in Maths.

After a doomed love affair and an unpleasant bank raid during which she defended herself with a tea tray, she headed to London for a couple of years. (There is a reason she doesn’t write romance!). She never intended staying but a chance meeting with the man of her dreams put paid to any return to Ireland. Having spent most of her career in the City, she decided something was missing. Working in the City is great but it’s a young person’s dream. Having three children you never see isn’t good for anyone. So she packed in the job and started writing. Thanks to her amazing readers, that writing turned into a career far more exciting and rewarding than any other.

Rachel lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, two boys and a girl. When not reading, writing or watching films for “research” purposes, Rachel likes to hang out with her family. She also travels regularly back home – in fact she should have shares in BA and Aerlingus.

 

My Review

Warning once you turn the first page you won’t be putting this read down, it is that good!
The atrocities that were committed in the name of the church, and condoned by the Irish government, unreal, and yet, yes, this is a fictional book, but if you read the author’s notes, it is based on fact.
The story is wonderfully done, and you will feel like your walking in Kate’s shoes, and unfortunately, all that she had to endure.
I loved how far that author brings us into the lives of those we soon care about, and even with the conclusion, she shares these characters with us, so we are left without questions as to what happened.
This is not my first book by Ms Wesson, and it will not be my last.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bookouture, and was not required to give a positive review