What an emotional story this is. The description of Diana's dementia is so real and believable, and due to her condition her treatment of Danni was heart-breaking. There were tears and some laughter during the book and it is a story that will stay in my mind for a long time. I recommend this book very highly

Danni's difficult relationship with her mother Diana worsens when her mum is diagnosed with dementia and breast cancer. Diana reveals that she had a stillborn son but is convinced he didn't really die. Is this her mental deterioration or the truth...?
My Mother's Secret is a very emotional book that centres around family dynamics. Danni has always felt unloved, that her mother valued her younger brother whilst rejecting her. With time running out, she is desperate to finally get the love and recognition she has always wanted. Watching a loved one's physical and mental health deteriorate is described with heartbreaking realism.
My own emotions veered from anger to sympathy and back again when considering Diana and the ways that past events have shaped her character and behaviour towards her daughter. Although the past explains her behaviour, it doesn't excuse it in any way. In contrast, Danni is almost saint-like, putting up with her mum's vitriol whilst coping with Diana's tragic diagnosis.
The style of writing feels quite natural which adds an authenticity to the scenarios described. I could particularly identify with Danni as she is around my age, with children as well as parents to care for. To be honest, I wanted Danni to find answers to soothe her heart and finally make Diana treat her with the love and respect she naturally deserved as her daughter.
My Mother's Secret is a tale of sadness, squandered love and new hope.

A beautifully written emotional page-turner, Julia Roberts’ My Mother’s Secret is a gripping tale of family, secrets and a mother’s love that will bring a tear to the eye of even the most cynical and jaded of readers.

Danni’s relationship with her mother Diana has never been the warmest. Danni still remembers being a child and lying in her bed at night wondering why her mother didn’t love her. Through the years, their relationship had got more and more strained, but when Danni gets a phone call in the middle of the night from the police who tell her that her mother has been found miles from home, lost and confused wandering along the main road, Danni immediately rushes to her aid, but Diana doesn’t seem to want to know. Danni is hurt, but she can sense that her mother is not well and she vows to put the past behind her and do her utmost to ensure that Diana is as happy and comfortable as she can possibly be in the last few weeks of her life. Only, little does Danni realise that her mother is about to reveal a shocking secret about the past she never would have imagined…

One night, a confused and frightened Diana breaks down in tears and confesses that before Danni’s birth, there was another child who had never seen the light of day. Everybody had told Diana that her baby had died, but she has always known in her heart of hearts that that simply isn’t true. Wouldn’t a mother know if their child had died? Danni is desperate to do whatever she can for her mother, so she vows to find her late brother’s resting place and bring Diana some peace before she dies. However, Danni’s quest for the truth is going to lead her down many a shocking avenue which soon makes her realise that nothing is what it initally seems.

Is Danni ready for the shocking family secrets she is about to uncover? Can mother and daughter heal the rift that has festered between them for so long? Or will Danni’s discoveries end up driving an even bigger wedge between her and her mother?

Julia Roberts’ My Mother’s Secret is a heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting tale about devastating secrets, past regrets and the bonds that bind and break us that will make the reader feel every single emotion which the characters in the novel go through, but Julia Roberts’ strengths as a storyteller lie in the fact that she never resorts to clichés or melodrama, but has penned a believable, affecting and engaging tale of family relationships I could not put down.

A superbly crafted novel I won’t easily forget, Diane Chamberlain fans will want to add Julia Roberts’ My Mother’s Secret to their auto-buy list.

My Mothers Secret is a story about family and being there for each other no matter what.
Danni grew up never feeling love from her mother. She knew her mother was capable of love because she saw how her mother treated her brother. Nothing she did was right, no amount of trying helped, so eventually Danni just gave up.
Now that she’s a mom herself she looks at her daughters and can’t imagine not loving them with her whole heart, so how could her mom have disliked her so much? The two never spend time together but when a late night call from the police sends Danni running to her moms side she realizes something is very wrong. Even though her mom doesn’t want her around Danni has no choice but to take over her mothers care. Maybe spending more time with Danni and her two grandchildren will make her realize she does love Danni after all. As her mother’s mind starts slipping more and more she hears her make a few comments about a baby who has died. Is she confused? Danni starts to discover things about her mother she never knew and her hood is to get all the answers she needs before it’s too late.

This story revolves around the bond between mother and daughter, a bond that is expected to last a lifetime, yet sometimes can become strained due to people actions, and secrets that undoubtable always come to the surface. Danielle Harper, also known as Danni is a married mother of two, her daughters Jade and Amber. Her husband ben is the perfect partner, he has been her rock throughout the turbulent times she has faced due to the abuse she faced by her mother Diana.

A heartbreakingly beautiful read that captivated me from beginning to end. The characters were wonderful and unique, and the storyline was brought to life beautifully by the authors brilliant way with words. I adored this story and have no doubt that others will too, it is a definite must read.

This is completely different from my usual genre, preferring to read crime novels and something to get my teeth into and try to solve!

It is a sad tale, with a lot of heartache for Danni, I think most of us have experienced having or knowing a relative with dementia and the demands it makes.  One minute they’re lucid and the next they are away in their own worlds, locked inside a body with a brain that is struggling to function.   

Saying that I don’t think there was really any excuse for the way her mother treated her, she’d not always been ill, she was just bitter at what life had thrown at her, which wasn’t the child’s fault at all.  I was, in some parts, getting quite cross with Diana, and felt really sorry for Danni, in fact if she’d treated me like that, I’d have left her to it!  However, she does mellow towards Danni and I think at the end there is perhaps true affection, well as much as Diana is capable of.  

I was gobsmacked with the twist and didn’t see that coming, it was such a good ending. 

My thanks to Julia, and the publishers for the arc.

Thank you, Bookouture, for a complimentary copy of this book! 

I have a confession to make: At first, the book didn't draw me in at all and I can't even say why. The character building was great, the writing fantastic--yet, I didn't feel any connection with the characters like I normally do when I read books like this one. But then, OMG, it hit me like a sledgehammer!!!
In the beginning, I didn't care too much about the mom, Diana. She seemed cold-hearted, is mean to her daughter Danni, and is overall rude and not very likable. The mental illness makes her negative vibes even worse. She also seems to love her son more than her daughter. Diana--whether unintentionally or intentionally--always says the wrong things...stabs into the heart of Danni. As the book progresses, we find out the reasons for this rude and hurtful behavior. Does that excuse what Diane does to Danni? Noooo!!! But it definitely explains it. The more details come to light about the events many decades ago, the more your heart starts hurting for everyone involved, including and in particular Diane. And just when you thought the dagger in your heart couldn't do any more damage, the author takes it and turns it around in the wound! Seriously, I cried my way through the last quarter of the book! At some point during that last quarter I wanted to hug Diane, take her hand, and tell her that the heartbreak she experienced at the hands of her own family was over and that everything would be ok now. But was it ok? Once again, you think you have heard it all and it can't get any more heartbreaking, and then you witness yet another tragic event! I felt so empty after reading this book. I had to give my kids an extra tight hug that night and told them that I love them with all my heart. Fantastic book!!!

“Will the truth hurt or heal?”

Another amazing 5 star read and another used up packet of those handy little tissues, or is it two? – Who knows how many tears this one has made me shed!

The real beginning of this story happened for the family a long time before the book was written, and as I stepped into the pages of their lives, a huge part of it was already drawing to a close, with the eventual ending becoming something of a new start for many of the characters, as well as providing closure for so many events now placed firmly in the past and best left forgotten.

The beautifully written, cleverly crafted scenes which make up this fast changing storyline, are intense, sometimes filled with humour, often full of regret and remorse, but always told with heart and compassion, by an author who held me captive in the palm of her hand all the time I was reading.

The compelling narrative was visually descriptive and skilled in the imagery of words, which added a genuine depth and range to the story, and just when you thought that there wasn’t one more heart-breaking, gut-wrenching thing that could potentially rip the world apart for this family and their close circle of friends, author Julia Roberts, threw not one, but a couple of late and unexpected twists into the mix, just to drag those last few unshed tears from her readers, as I was left to wonder whether this would be the straw which broke their fragile familial bonds, or that which bound them more tightly together.

The guileless spontaneity of Danni’s own daughters, Diana’s granddaughters and the open loving relationship they enjoy with both their parents, but especially their mother, also brings home to Diana just what she has missed out on in that special mother/daughter bond. Memories which she can never and could never make, whilst she spent every waking moment lavishing love and praise on the son she had, and the one she left behind.

The lies, the secrets, the venom, the hatred, the despair, the loss, stretching back over decades, all are laid bare for the world to see, in the profoundly touching and emotionally draining last few weeks of Diana’s life, in a powerful storyline about sibling rivalry, a mother’s constant and unyielding disappointment, family relationships and dynamics, which was crafted by the author, with total confidence. The ravages of cruel, unseen illnesses were sympathetically brought to bear and forced out into the open, with absolute authority, by a multi-faceted, wonderfully defined, complex cast of characters, as building blocks to mending bridges, and healing hearts and minds. Whilst the characters all carried quite complicated personalities, I found that most were fairly easy to relate to and become invested in, even the ‘touchy’ Diana, who learns the lesson almost too late, that not talking together as a family had deprived her of and destroyed, so many years for her, when she might have been part of a loving family, and been loved, instead of hated, in return. Danni has spent a lifetime searching for a sense of belonging, reaching out to a mother who constantly pushes her away, now as the strands of Diana’s story begin to unravel, she is adult enough to be the one to reach out, to try to heal the wounds of a situation, which, it transpires, was the damaging legacy left by the previous generation, that still had the power to hold Diana emotionally captive into her latter years and almost to her grave.

The ending to this tale, whilst sad and inevitable, was peaceful and sows the seeds of change and new beginnings for the rest of the family and their closest circle of friends, which will see them changed forever, moving forward with their lives, together, supporting one another, through the good times and the bad.

“Know the truth and the truth will set you free!”

This book actually took me on quite a personal journey on, oh! so many fronts, and whilst I am certain that it might not have been especially unique, the feelings and emotions it evoked for me, most certainly were!

This really is a beautiful and heart-rending book. I was enthralled by it from start to finish.

Danni is in a very difficult position. Her mother never showed her the love that she should have, but the bond between them is still strong, and she has to look after her mother in her time of need. As she does, secrets from long ago emerge, and even though they are heart-breaking, they explain why her mother is the way she is, and a new understanding is made possible for Danni.

This book is an absolute pleasure to read, in spite of the sad storyline. The characters feel so real, and I was totally drawn in. As the blurb says, you will smile through your tears, and this is exactly how it made me feel. It’s not as simple a plot as you might first think, and there are a few twists and shocks along the way. I just could not put it down. I’ve read books by this author before, but not in this genre. I loved it so much that I’m going to have to read more by her. A really beautiful, engrossing and captivating read, I was sorry when it finished, it felt so authentic.

In recent times, I’ve been much more inclined to pick up a romantic comedy than a book with an emotional punch as strong as this one. When I read about mother Diana’s “memories… slipping away”, I knew it was going to be rather closer to the knuckle than I might find comfortable, but knowing the author’s rather special touch I really did want to give it a try. I sat down after lunch one day, was drawn into the book from the very beginning, and didn’t move again (my tissues were within easy reach…) until I’d read the very last page. The reading was such an emotional experience – and I do think that this book’s themes will particularly resonate with the more mature reader, as Danni finds herself in that familiar “sandwich” between an elderly and ailing parent and her own family – but I have to say that I thought this book was quite wonderful.

I remember visiting my own mother in her care home and witnessing a resident viciously attacking her daughter – comforting her with the usual “it’s just the dementia”, she surprised me when she said her mother had never liked her, she’d always been nasty, it was just that the dementia meant that she just didn’t have to hide it any more. Danni and Diana’s relationship has always been a difficult and dysfunctional one – her brother was always the favourite, and the book largely explores the reasons why. I have to say that the way Diana’s increasing dementia is depicted has exceptional authenticity – particularly the small things like the forgotten flashes of anger, the moments of complete emptiness, the fear behind the eyes. But it was the love that got me through all that – it’s a love Danni’s never experienced from her mother, but it doesn’t stop her stepping in as unwelcome carer when Diana’s mental state and her health begin to decline.

One reason I loved this book was because the characters and the situations they found themselves in just felt so entirely real – the relationships are so well drawn, the emotional content so raw it hurts, the dialogue with the quality of conversations overheard when you shouldn’t really be listening. But as well as that, there’s a fascinating, well-told and thoroughly gripping story – Diana’s big secret, initially indistinguishable between fantasy and reality, but then driving the narrative as Danni strives to uncover the truth and to bring her mother some peace. The focus on families and the mother-daughter relationship is unflinching and superbly handled – but there’s also a very strong supporting cast that only enhances the story further.

There’s enough, I think, in the book’s description to let you know what to expect – telling you any more would only spoil it, and that would be unforgivable. It is quite a page-turner, with moments of almost unbearable poignancy – but it’s not without its lighter moments, and the balance between the day-to-day ordinariness of life and the digging into the emotional depths is perfectly balanced. Its conclusion made me cry and smile – in fact, I was a bit of a soggy mess a few times as I was reading – but there’s absolutely no manipulation, it’s just a heartbreaking story quite beautifully told. Such a special book, and highly recommended – I really loved it.

I wasn't expecting this when I started this book.

This is the most emotional and heart wrenching book I've read as of now. It involves a bond between mother and daughter which should be a life long bond.

This book will hit you hard with the emotion that comes from every page.

The whole book kept me hooked from start to finish with the storyline and the characters.

My Mother’s Secret is a totally emotional story so come prepared with tissues! The author delves into some deep topics – dementia, cancer, a stillbirth – but does so with a deep respect for the situation and anybody who might have found themselves in the same position. However, don’t expect insight into the medical side of these topics. This story is completely about how a mother and daughter battle through these events while trying to salvage a relationship that’s always been broken.

It was very interesting to follow Diana and Danni’s relationship. It’s a bit different from similar relationships I’ve encountered in the past as Danni is a very forgiving and caring figure. It doesn’t have the big bust-ups that I would have expected a story like this to have. I still haven’t made up my mind if I missed the drama in My Mother’s Secret or not. There certainly are some juicy bits within the pages of this book and there is a great plot development, it’s just that things move a tad too slow and no “action” really occurs until the end. One other gripe I had was that I found the writing to be quite passive. There were many times when the narrative told us what happened rather than leave the plot to unfold in front of our eyes. A change in tact could possibly have added the more dramatic scenes some of us readers yearn for.

But, as I said, this story is really about a mother-daughter relationship, specifically a strained relationship, and how to aim to co-exist in the face of diversity. When it comes to laying out the emotion of this journey to us, the author gets top marks.

What an emotional read. I don't think I have cried so much reading a book before. A great storyline dealing with loss of children at birth and the affect this can have on a mother's emotions through her life and the consequences for others in the wider family. It deals very sensitively with the topic of dementia of which I have a lot of experience as both my parents suffered with this disease.

My Mother’s Secret really tugged at my heartstrings, a real emotional tear-jerker! 

My heart aches for poor Danni! Her mom’s words and behavior towards her throughout her life made me physically wince and gasp, especially when she was younger. The long-lasting psychological harm and damage was apparent throughout Danni’s life and yet she was still there for her mother. Finding out about her mom’s diagnosis later was also a hard time for Danni. Despite knowing the symptoms of the disease, hurtful words still hurt, Alzheimer’s is way too frequent of a visitor to many of my family members and I am too familiar with the unexpected anger and turbulent mood swings. 

I am so impressed with the author for creating a character that I could feel such empathy and compassion for, and one that I felt such strong emotion towards as each twist, turn, and secret in her life was revealed. 

I highly recommend this book, as emotional as it is.

There’s no doubt in my mind that parents differentiate between children. But why does Danni’s mother, Diana, almost seem to detest her daughter, while lavishing all her love and attention on her son, Adam. Now that Adam is in New Zealand and her mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and cancer, Danni has to step in and take care of her. How her mother unwittingly reveals something in her past, she starts to unravel the thread that leads to the answer to her question.

The author has done a fabulous job of telling a story of the tenuous relationship with a mother and daughter and how the daughter is able to continue to show love and concern to her mother.

By telling how family secrets can cause so much pain and heartache, the author reinforces how truth and open communication can make for better familial relationships.

What I found particularly interesting was the fact that family needn’t be the one we’re born into – as Danni experiences with her husband, Ben and her friend, Maxine.

Danni’s character is truly beautiful – a large hearted and compassionate woman who is determined to be an example of kindness and love to her daughters. Her husband, Ben too is a rock of a partner and father – supportive and kind.

How Danni makes sure that her daughters are constantly assured of her love is also a reminder that we needn’t get stuck into family behaviour patterns.

Altogether, a book that brought me to tears and reminded me that we must always look beyond a person’s behaviour, to find what is the hurt that makes them behave so.

I will certainly be on the look out for more books from Julia Roberts and recommend this one highly.

Bookouture have described this book as compelling and I absolutely have to agree. I picked this book up at 3pm, and less than 8 hours later, despite having to navigate tea and bed time for the kids and logging back on to work, I had finished it. I found myself completely engrossed and eager to know the outcome of Danni and Diana’s story.

The opening of the book is engaging and shocking, as we are quickly told of Diana’s self-destructive behaviour and her diagnosis as a result of this being flagged to her family, and the authorities. I was completely hooked from this moment on, wanting to know where this domestic drama would lead.

Danni is a likeable character, and at times, appears too good to be true. She is kind, considerate, hard-working, caring and devoted. She stands in start contrast to her mother who is blunt, fiercely independent (or tries to be!), and at times very cruel and unkind. Their relationship is a complex one, and I really felt for Danni not being able to have that loving connection with her mother, and not understanding why. Danni’s desire to be a good daughter and get her mother’s positive attention is almost child-like at times, highlighting the emotional absence she felt as a child.

Though I found this to be an easy read in terms of length and language, it is quite a complex and clever story that brings to the fore many themes and issues around familial relationships, motherhood and sibling rivalry. I have loved viewing being an outsider looking into how the family descends into disharmony and chaos, at times. I have found the twists to be both shocking and unpredictable. This is quite a dark book at times, but the ending serves as an uplifting reminder to not take what you have for granted.

This has been an addictive, gripping and emotional read that I would recommend to domestic drama fans, including fans of Jodi Picoult, Amanda Prowse and Sam Vickery.

My goodness what a sad story this was! There was so much heartbreak and so many difficult situations for so many of the characters. It was quite hard to like Diana at first when you read about the way she has shunned her daughter Danni and blatantly favoured her brother Adam over the years. I felt a natural sympathy for Danni who never understood why she was treated this way. She has her own lovely family and is determined her girls will know nothing but love. And yet, it is Danni who steps up when Diana needs her.

Anyone who has cared for a relative with dementia will recognise the difficulties this brings and Julia Roberts does not shy away from showing this clearly, but she also shows the happier more lucid moments in Diana's relationship with Danni and her granddaughters. The author also gently and sensitively explores the effect losing a child can have throughout the parent's life. The author really put her characters through the mill with so many traumas heaped upon them and yet in a way that seemed completely plausible.

Having said that there is a lot of sadness, this isn't a book which upset me, more me made just feel such sympathy for its characters. I found it a very compelling book with its short chapters and first person narrative making it very much a 'just one more chapter' type read. If you enjoy a book with lots of emotion and family secrets, then this is a book for you.

My heart has a massive hole in it, a massive hold weeping blood. This is my first read of 2021 to reduce me to tears. I need a hug and some hot chocolate and marshmallows, maybe even one of those hot water bottles shaped like a cut animal to snuggle up to. I loved this book. My nan had dementia and the author is spot on in the way she portrays how the illness affects Danni’s mother. She reminded me so much of my nan I found it painful to read at times. My Mother’s Secret is the definition of a page-turner and a tear-jerker. I didn’t want to stop reading once I’d fallen into the lives of Danni and her family as they cope with one shock after another. I loved every word of this.

This story and it's characters have been so well written, you could believe you are part of it.  Powerful yet emotional.  The relationship between Danni and her mum is so similar to mine with my life and Ben's live for Danni, is so like my husband's for me!  It is so uncanny. I love getting so drawn  into a book, I can't put it down until I've finished it.

I received an ARC from Bookouture through NetGalley for an honest review.  I enjoyed reading this book because when I read what the book was about I wondered why Diane was cold while Danni was growing up.  One night Danni received a phone call from the police her mother had an episode and they discovered she had dementia.  Danni decided that she would let go of past hurts and just make her as happy as she could in the time they have left. 
Diane told Danni that when she was 15 she got pregnant and they told her the baby was stillborn but her mother never believed it.  Danni decided that she would find her brother's resting place to bring some peace to her mother and that sounded so nice but it led to some major discoveries, that took me on a journey that was full of surprises and heartbreak.
Diane didn't seem to have a happy life but her daughter Danni had a wonderful husband that was supportive and understanding.  There was also Diane's neighbor that was always there when needed and he kept an eye on Diane.  There was sadness but there were also the people who just made things better.  The author did a wonderful job writing this story.  It was Diane's life, her journey, and how she became the person she was.