Through a Mother's Tears

Through A Mother's Tears by Cathy Broomfield

This was a true story written bravely by Cathy Broomfield who is from Southern Wales. If I could not read anything so sad again, I would be quite content. With straight forward language Cathy tells us the story how she lost two daughter's, each death was very tragic and senseless. This book haunted me and left me feeling quite depressed all day after reading it in one sitting. Beautiful Kirsty went missing and the worry I felt while reading this was quite palpable.

Cathy's other daughter literally died from a broken heart from the grief she felt from losing her sister. In the next few years after Kirsty's murder, Haley begins to drown her sorrows in the bottle. Haley literally drank herself too death. How this mother who is so grief stricken finds the courage to share her story is extremely brave. Cathy and her husband Dave have only one daughter named Sonya and Sonya's children.

Brutal, unflinching honesty, massage parlors, murder, alcoholism are all part of this heartbreaking story. It is not in any way an inspirational read and I would caution people that this story is very bleak. Sometimes reading a sad true story leaves you feeling devastated for the pain this family endured. Sometimes it can make us feel that our own problems are not so bad.

Thank you to Net Galley, Cathy Broomfield and Thistle Publishing for granting me my ARC for a fair and honest review.

A heartbreaking honest novel of loss and grief.
Well written with enough detail to help the reader understand the chronoligical order of events, and the ripple of effect amongst family members.
The sadness felt can not be imagined. The hope of reunion ends the writing, and I pray gives reassurance day to day to Cathy Bbroomfield, and others touched by this, and other tragedies....

Such a sad recollection from a brave mother. I commend the bravery and strength of this family. A book I read in one sitting.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

This is a gut wrenching brutally honest account of a family torn apart by the murder of one daughter and the death of a second one. Cathy Broomfield is a brave loving mother and I have the utmost respect for her and her family.

This is a story that has to be told but should never actually have to be told.

What a heartbreaking read.

To lose one child is bad enough, but to lose that child to such a vicious brutal murder, I don't know how Cathy got through that ordeal. And then, just a couple of years later to lose another child to alcohol abuse caused by heartache, just does not bare thinking about.
Such an emotional read but one I feel needed to be told.
Cathy, you say you are weak but in my eyes you are one of the strongest women I have ever read about. You keep going, and let the world know just how unkind it can be and make young girls aware of the dangers out there.

A heartbreaking tale about a mother who has lost not just one daughter but two. This book is written in a really honest and open way and you can feel the hurt and pain this family have gone through but you can also feel her strength and courage to carry on even after the most horrible events occur in your life. Hold your loved ones close.

This book was very special it was about her daughter that got killed by her husband .
Then after that another daughter died after her sister died .
It was a good read .
Thank you Netgalley for your ASAP

Thank you Net Gallery, Thistle Publishing and David Haviland for allowing me to review Through A Mother's Tears by Cathy Broomfield.

A heartbreaking story of a Mother who not only lost one daughter to domestic abuse but another to health issues. I felt so bad for Cathy for the agonizing pain of what she surely was going through and how in the end she found closure but no mother should have to go through this. I could feel the tears running down my face. The way Cathy wrote this book about her two daughters Kirsty and Hayley you could feel every emotion. Cathy also knew something wasn't right when Kirsty first met her finacee. Moms just know this. It's a shame her fears were ignored. Hayley couldn't cope with life without her sister and fell into heavy drinking. Young lives cut short for no reason. It's lovely to know that Cathy has a 3rd daughter Sonya and grandchildren. Thank you Cathy for sharing this story with readers. It had to be heartbreaking to relive it all to share this. Hopefully it brings positivity to another person.

Cherie'

Very sad and emotional book. Its about a Family who looses the first daughter when she marries a man who beats her to death. Then he pretends she just ran off on him. She is found in a terrible way. Her sister who she was very close to just could not cope with the loss and overdoses.
This whole family could be helped with some therapy

Thank you to Thistle Publishing for providing me with a digital copy for review.

I basically sobbed for quite a while after finishing this tragic true story. The last paragraph is going to stay with me for a long time.

This book is upsetting emotionally because it is full of heartbreak, despair, grief and sadness. You only need to read the blurb to know how upsetting the book will be. It is tragic all-round. The story is told with unflinching honesty by Cathy Broomfield. Her writing is a punch to the heart and you can feel the grief come off the pages effortlessly.

This is an important story to be heard. You will probably read this in one sitting and then cry afterwards at how awful the world can be. For me, this book emphasised the reason I read; because the grief that Broomfield experiences is the grief of many in the world in similar situations.

By openly sharing her grief, I hope that readers can reflect on their own lives and most of all learn the importance of empathy.

Wow .....
This is a truly heartbreaking story of a mother who lost two of her beautiful daughters so very tragically, kirsty murdered by her violent husband and Hayley unable to deal with the loss of her sister turned to alcohol and unfortunately died.
To put all her heartbreak ,sadness and loss into words and put them into a book is so remarkably courageous.
I hope this book inspires people all over ...especially women/men in violent relationships to get out of them and also that alcohol doesn’t solve anything for you it only hurts you more.
I wish this book every success in the world and I’m very privileged to have been chosen to read it .
Thankyou and good luck
RIP Kirsty and Hayley x

This is a very sad story and I can't imagine the sense of loss the author must feel. The author writes from experience and the anguish and anger she feels are evident.

Absolutely heart breaking. Unbelievable to think that one woman has endured so much heartache and sorrow. This book will stay with me for a long long time.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the ARC.

Broomfield's story is absolutely depressing. She came from a broken home, had three relationships herself, and experienced the murder of her youngest child and watched the middle daughter self destruct. The author states at the end that she just exists in the world, she's basically waiting to die. In fact she overdosed after the murder of her daughter, but her attempt was foiled. The story is blunt and abrupt.

Through A Mother's Tears is a heart wrenching read. I advise a reader to be sure to have their tissues ready.
I give it five stars.

This story is so sad. I have watched the documentary about Kirsty and my heart goes out to her family. Such a beautiful troubled girl. I did not realise that her sister had also died.

A really sad read, I read the book in one sitting, would definitely recommend especially for anyone who loves true life reads like me.

This was an unrelievedly sad story written by the mother of a murder victim in the UK who recounts the tragic events leading up to her daughter’s horrific killing. Written in an everyday manner, Cathy Broomfield shares how she found out about the murder, and how it impacted her family. They were all terribly traumatized, but especially her other daughter who was closest to her murdered daughter growing up. After a time, that daughter spiraled and was eventually lost her life too. So much grief and loss, this was difficult to read all at one go, but I did struggle through it. The tears ran many times as I read on.

I really empathized with Ms. Broomfield all through the book and hope it was healing for her in some way to write about it. I hope that her helping other families dealing with similar situations helps her pain also. Such a terrible story, I hope that something positive can come from it somehow. An advance digital copy was provided by NetGalley, author Cathy Broomfield, and the publisher for my unbiased review.

Thistle Publishing
Pub Date: June 28, 2018

3.5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley & Thistle Publishing for allowing me to read a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 🙏🏻❤️. This book was released today and I do hope that you will pick up a copy and allow Kirsty's story to continue on through each and every reader. This book may even save lives. Domestic Violence is so very real. I found Kirsty's situation with her husband extremely relatable to my past and I can't stress enough how extremely grateful that I am that my friends & family got me out of that situation. Who knows where I would be or if I'd even be alive today.

Kirsty's story is absolutely heartbreaking, anyone would claim that if they were in an abusive situation such as hers that they would simply leave but it is NOT that easy. You learn to hide even the smallest of things, fighting becomes a norm, you believe they can change, you're embarrassed, you settle, they become your entire life.

My heart aches for Cathy , Dave, Sonya and the entire family for what they have been through. I couldn't imagine losing two children at such a young age, Cathy is such a strong person to be able to carry on and continue living & loving. I commend her for putting this story out there. I agree that with her that 19 years is a disgrace, he should be behind bars forever!

I did find this book to be a bit problematic at times, the writing often shifted from one tense to another. One paragraph would be talking about the present, and the next paragraph would be remembering the past or talking about something that would happen in the future, I feel that that could have been navigated a bit better. Also, there was an excessive use of adjectives such as : gentle, kind, giving, beautiful every single time Kirsty's name was mentioned. The repitition did get a bit annoying. I was also confused by the following : 1. Paul used Kirsty's debit card the morning after he killed her , but I remember Cathy stating that Paul said Kirsty had left her debit card at home, so that to me would have been a red flag either concerning the time of death or who used her debit card at that time and for what. 2. Also,if the downstairs neighbors heard such commotion as arguing and screaming and testified that it sounded like a "body was being drug across the floor" why wasn't that reported before the trial? 3. I feel like Hayley dying from a broken heart feels a bit like reaching. I understand that she wouldn't have begun drinking if Kirsty hadn't been killed but she didn't actually die of a "broken heart" as some do shortly thereafter a loved one dies-- it was a while after & from alcohol unfortunately. 4. The police never confirmed or denied the star tattoo or at least the reader wasn't told about it. The only recognition of the body was her eyebrows, I would have demanded more.

All of that being said I would still highly recommend this book, but maybe make it longer with more " in depth" details. More explanations. My heart breaks for this family and I hope that somehow they find peace.

So heartbreaking. I couldn't imagine losing my child let alone 2. My heart goes out to this family. I do think it is crap the sentence the daughters murderer gets.

The beautiful sisters, Sonya, Hayley and Kristy. All of them with so much love of life, family and friends. Sonya was happily married with children of her own. Hayley was not married, but happy in what she was doing. Kristy the baby, the youngest girl, fell in love and married a young man in a whirlwind romance. .The tragedy that the parents of these girls endure is tragically sad.
One daughter is murdered, the other went into such a deep depression that she quit eating and turned to alcohol. This is indeed a sad book. It is also full of bravery, hope and courage. I recommend it. Great read.

If there is still a trace of anger within you I don’t blame you, the unfairness of it all was just too much to bear, so yes you are entitled because the love you had when you first laid eyes on them in the hospital room doesn’t die because they did. Your hurt is evident and I realized this is a form of therapeutic healing so I pray you were successful, no matter, your story is a tearjerker for sure. I have two kids and I truly don't want to lose them especially not in the way you lost yours, I don’t even know how you manage to stay sane through it all. It would be totally unfair to say I know how you feel, I don’t. Too many secrets and bravado fills that pride mode to say they can handle at all times, but we must always remember we make our kids but we do not make their minds, they would always do what they think is right for them and what they want, so don’t feel too bad, there is no way you could have prevented the inevitable, know one thing, they living their lives doesn't mean they hate you, their last words can attest to this, they loved you. My heart goes out to you in all your pain and suffering, I know no matter how many years past the hurt and unfairness doesn’t go away it just dims a bit. A heart-wrenching tale of life's trials and tribulations but it also shows the author has a strong will to heal and survive it all, thanks for sharing your tale with us readers, it was indeed a heartfelt and hurtful one, sorry you lost your treasures. A sad but interesting tale.

I’m not sure how I can even begin to ‘review’ this book, because it is the account of Cathy’s experiences and there’s no way you can rate someone else’s book written through their own suffering. What I will say however is that I can easily give this book 5 stars simply for how open Cathy has been in telling her story, and how grateful I feel to have been able to read about Cathy’s two lovely daughters. This must have been so heart-wrenchingly hard for Cathy to write, but I think she has done her daughters proud in writing this account of them, and the love she has for her two girls shines through. Be prepared for a very emotional read.

Heartbreaking story. I cried through the book. The strength that Cathy shows is amazing. I cannot imagine what she went through.
Even this is a heartbreaking story I would still high,y recommend it

A personal account of a family tragedy, honestly and candidly narrated by Cathy Broomfield whose daughter Kirsty was brutally murdered, and in which she describes the agony of that loss and how it affected the whole family. A moving and compelling story.

Through A Mothers Tears is a truly heartbreaking read, to lose one child in a horrific way is bad enoughbut then to lose another, words fails me, it's such a sad story.

People who are interested in Biographies and Autobiographies will want to read this book! This book was very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I give this book 5 stars. Provided to me through NetGalley. Thank You!

This book explores the anguish suffered by a mother who loses two daughters, one to murder and the other to grief. The author is the mother herself, and does a good job conveying the facts and the feelings which are experienced - as a reader, I felt empathy and commiserated with her for those losses which upturned her life and the lives of her family.

7/10: I will post my review later on as right now I can't find the right words.

Review 7/23:

Reading this book had me in tears for just about the entirety of the read. As a survivor of domestic abuse, I was able to relate with Kirsty and completely understood her reasons for staying with that despicable human being. I only wish she had been able to free herself before her life was savagely taken from her. I can't, however, begin to comprehend the loss that this mother has had to endure as she lost not one but two daughters as no parent should ever have to outlive their children. I want to say thank you to Cathy for sharing her story with us and I will never forget it.

This story was moving and inspiring how a mother losing two daughters is still standing. The story was written beautifully and it allowed the reader a glimpse of what the mother went through.

Well written emotional journey through a family's tragedy.

A friend recommended this book to me. I hesitated to read it a little while as, as a mother myself, I 'didn't want to go there'. I just don't want to think about what it would be like to lose a child. I got a copy anyway and started to read Cathy Broomfield's heart wrenching story.

The book turned out a bit different to how I was anticipating. On the cover is a picture of two very young girls, so I had thought that the girls had died at a very young age. Kirsty is grown-up at the beginning of the book and telling her mum that she's going to get married. Cathy Broomfield then tells us of the girls' earlier years, about happier times, of fond memories before everything happened. Also mentioned are events from the times, things in the news, on TV at the time etc. This was written very simply and concisely and I was soon glued to Cathy's story. I was intrigued about who could be responsible for the murder. I was soon gripped by the case.

This was a very interesting read as I hadn't heard of this case in the news or seen it on TV-I can't recall it anyway, so it was all new to me. I certainly didn't know what was going to happen next. This is a terribly tragic story-and for someone to lose a second daughter as well-well, it's just unimaginable. This was well-written and well put-together. I am hoping that pouring out her story and her feelings in this way will be cathartic. I'm sure it will help other parents who have gone through similar circumstances too. An emotional and moving book. An absolute tragedy. A double tragedy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thistle Publishing for the opportunity to write a review in exchange for a free copy.

This is a raw book. It singes with the raw emotion of a mother who lost both her daughters too young. This is not a fun book to read, in fact I found it excruciating. The author is honest with her bitterness and anguish. I've never read a book that made me feel so close to what it feels like to have a family member murdered.

This book was terribly heartbreaking, and while the story its tragic knowing that its a true crime story so
all of these terrible things actually happened to someone is very hard to swallow. The book is written by the mother retelling the story of her daughters and their tragic passing. Cathy's daughters were inseparable and they could light up any room they walked into. Things started to change when Kristy meets her husband. The family doesn't approve but tries to give her the benefit of the doubt. When Cathy doesn't hear from her daughter she starts to get a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It isn't long before the cops show up at her door and confirm what she already knew her daughter is dead. From the murder of her one daughter to the death of her second I can't imagine what this poor family has been going through. It's tragic. This book was really interesting though. You really felt the pain and the sadness that the mother felt as well as the anger at the situation. While it was a terrible thing that happened the story itself was amazing and I couldn't put this book down. I just kept thinking what a terrible thing to have happened and how the family managed to cope with not just one tragic loss but two. This book had so much power and emotion especially for it being so short. It really grabbed you by the heartstrings and never let go.This story managed to bring tears to my eyes and that doesn't happen often. Amazing read, but its so sad to think that one family had to go through all of this tragedy. The ending was not at all what I was expecting from the title I was thinking a suicide so it was
in interesting twist. Really good read but I feel for the family. Check this book out you wont be disappointed.

This book is a true account by a mother, Cathy Broomfield, who reported her daughter Kristy as missing. Cathy initially thought that Kristy had run away from her abusive husband, but slowly learns that there was a lot she didn't know about her daughter's life. She finally gets the awful news she was dreading and then has to go through weeks of trial at court. Just when she thought her nightmare was finally over, she gets even more disturbing news and has to face yet another tragedy.
I want to thank the publishers for sending me an ARC for my honest review.

This was a tough one to get through. It's a story about a mother's loss of her two children at two different times. As a mom, this book broke my heart. I can't imagine what it's like to see your children indulging in self-destructive behaviors and being helpless to do anything. Watching the downward spiral was heart breaking. I hope for her that this book brought her some relief in the telling of her story. It gave her a chance to share her children's lives as something other than a sordid headline. Sad but riveting.#netgalley #throughamotherstears #CathyBroomfield

This was one of those rare times whereby i sat and read a book within a day. Quite an emotional read and thankfully, no one was around to see me having to wipe a tear or two away. I lost a son and it is something that i will never get over, but i couldn't even comprehend losing two. I do remember the case from reading newspapers, but never really knew the full story. I do wish Cathy Broomfield all the best for the future. Recommended.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review.

How sad it is that any Mother should have to write this book and retell the devastating and truly heartbreaking story of loosing two children. One child to murder and the other through alcohol abuse with the route cause been the death of her Sister.
I really, really felt for Cathy as she very bravely told her story.
My only wish is that at sometime, somewhere, someone reading this recognises themselves/someone else in the same situation and manages to seek help to successfully escape from it and that is why I suppose sometimes however chilling and horrific these stories need to be shared.
My thanks go to Netgalley and the author in providing this arc in return for a honest review.

What an absolutely heartbreaking book.

This is the true story of how Cathy lost her 2 daughters, one to murder and one to a broken heart.