As a new member of RNA’s New Writer’s Scheme busy trying to finish my first draft, I couldn’t wait to read the winning entry of the RNA’s 2018’s Joan Hessayon Award for new writers. With its gorgeous cover and contemporary title as soon as it was announced on NetGalley I requested this ARC straight away.

Although a bit of a slow starter, the story picks up as the characterisation builds, and has a nail-biting climax that you won’t see coming. The author’s in-depth knowledge of cystic fibrosis and the effects of this debilitating illness on the whole family is apparent in the realistic first-person narrative.

My opinion of the protagonist is a divided one. The story is well written and there were times that I did empathise with Cath; being a new mother is exhausting at the best of times, let alone having to deal with Mia’s condition. But she is also incredibly selfish and even when she realises her actions are putting her daughter at risk she can’t stop herself. It’s almost as if she has a dual personality: acting as both the protagonist who goes all out to find out as much as she can about finding a cure for her daughter, and the antagonist whose actions puts Mia’s life in danger. This conflict between the protagonist as a mother, and the protagonist as a woman is what keeps the pages turning.

But if Cath is selfish, then Richard – who she meets at the CF help group, is in another league. He is prepared to lie and put baby Mia at risk rather than admit the truth. But to Cath he represents hope as well as a means of escape.

My favourite character was the protagonist’s husband. Dave just seems to get on with whatever is thrown at him and would have made a good protagonist himself. The narrative is written in first-person from Cath’s perspective throughout. Throwing in a conflicting perspective would have been interesting.

The story is more about the protagonist’s inner journey, and her coming to terms with her daughter’s illness. It also reflects on her relationships with her wider family and her own inner demons irrespective of what she is going through with Mia.


Under literature Love’s rating scheme, this book has been awarded 4 stars for its genre under Women’s fiction. The narrative is well-written, and although the protagonist wasn’t particularly likeable, she was three-dimensional and completely un-stereotypical. There are a few twists and turns towards the end of the novel but I would have liked to have seen a few more thrown in throughout.

No not for me. I have lost a couple of friends to this awful disease and I found the storyline hard going. Sorry, I could not finish the book.

This book shows how little hope there is when a child is diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and how it affects different people different ways. How do you look at your baby and know that you're going to spend their life filling them with medications, giving them physiotherapy and knowing that they'll die young.

Okay there are scientists looking for a cure - but will it be affordable when - if - they manage to find one.

A heartbreaking book.

This book was my first by this author and will not be my last it is a good read it is a gripping read.
The book was well written and fasted paced in places, loveable characters you can’t help but feel for them a difficult topic Cystic Fibrosis. It is a good storyline and made me cry in places but I did enjoy the book.

Dealing with a subject that is a very difficult one, I found this book to be very enlightening and Informative and utterly compelling. It is a tale of love, both healthy and unhealthy and shows the different facets of the human heart. Tear inducing in places and a tale of uneasy acceptance and the struggle to cope with a child with a very serious life limiting illness. Beautiful and thought provoking.

An incredible read, fast paced, full of well researched material presented with a fictional twist that pulls you through the devastation a genetic disorder creates in a family.

The topic of being given a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis is hard to write about but it was done sensitively. I am in two minds about the book as I enjoyed the plot, writing style and sensitively but I struggled with the main character Cath. I understand the trauma she was going through but I didn't warm to her which impacted my enjoyment of the book. I would like to have read the same story from her husband's point of view.
I am looking forward to reading more from the author

An enjoyable read concerning the difficult diagnosis of CF diagnosis. I found it difficult to like the main character and found the last quarter of the book a little implausible but would still recommend.

This is a very sad and distressing book. A story about a family with a very sick baby diagnosed with a life limiting condition. I found it a compelling read and I did want to find out how it ended but it is also upsetting to read how the situation destroyed the family, more so I feel because it seems so likely that this is what will happen in these circumstances. The behaviours of the characters seems to be self destructing - is this what happens too? I found it a good read but am not sure if I would recommend it to anyone who is going through a similar situation

This is undoubtedly a well written book, although I do not favour first person novels as they are all tell. The author is obviously well versed in the complications and treatments for CF. I found it difficult to like the main character Cath and most definitely didn't like Richard. My main empathy was with Cath's husband which is not what I imagine the author wanted. The book wasn't what I expected at all.

Her love for her daughter is everything Her love for him is deadly
Cath had twenty-five perfect amazing days with her newborn daughter and then something terrible happens Mia's deadly illness was diagnosed. and it sends shock waves through Cath and her husband..

in order to cope Cath joins a cystic fibrosis group to help her understand about her daughters illness there she meets Richard a man who's 15 year old Daughter has the same illness they both become close then Lovers but will her love for him harm her Daughter??

well i'm going to be very honest and say i did not like this book, i not like to give bad reviews but this book was boring and it didn't really have much of a story Cath spent most of the book Crying, i found it a real struggle to finish this book in the end i got to 88% of the book and i gave up i couldn't read anymore their was nothing about this book i enjoyed there was way to much medical talk it felt like i was reading a medical book about cystic fibrosis i feel bad about leaving this review but i have to be honest and say i didn't like it but some other people may like the book

A heart wrenching tale of having a baby with a life threatening illness and the day to day challenges this brings to both parents and them as a couple trying to adapt. I would recommend this book.

I found it hard to empathise with Cath the main character in this book. She struggles to deal with a child born with illness that has, and will continue to have, a major impact on the family. The story was well written and the research required to make it believable was all there. I guess I just didn't want the story to develop the way it did!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I found this a little hard to get into in the beginning. It wasn’t what I expected but it didn’t disappoint. I found it heartbreaking and sad. Good storyline. Well worth a read.

Thank you for providing me with a copy of this book to read. I found it emotional, and a very sensitive topic to cover. A good plot which details the lengths people are stretched to when facing such a diagnosis. Recommended read.

This was an emotional read as a new mother finds out her newborn baby girl has cystic fibrosis. She puts all her energy into researching the condition and distances herself from her family and friends and husband as she struggles to come to terms with the diagnosis herself. You can imagine it’s an all too real situation in real life not wanting to believe what you have been told. It’s a good read albeit an emotional one. It also gives you an insight into the struggles you would encounter if you were given life changing news yourself. All in all a good book

I found this to be a hard book to read. The subject matter is sensitive: Cath, after many years of trying to have a baby has succeeded and is over the moon about baby Mia. But when Mia is three weeks old Cath receives a phone call that will change her life. The neonatal blood test suggests Mia may have cystic fibrosis, a life limiting incurable disease. Cath throws herself into researching the condition, something that is very believable. She naturally finds it very hard to accept the diagnosis and her reactions to friends and family is also very believable. Other reactions I found less credible and Cath doesn't come across as a likeable character. There is character development of sorts as she seems to learn from her mistakes. This is not a particularly enjoyable read but fiction is about more than enjoyment. The best books add to our understanding of the human condition and this novel certainly does that. So if you want to know more about CF, about how someone might react on hearing their longed for first child has the condition, then this is something for you. It's well written and heartfelt even though in the end I couldn't really relate to the main character.