My Mother's Children

My Mother's Children by Annette Sills

Carmel's entire family is gone. They have all died over the years from accidents or natural causes. Her mother and brother have died recently and she is emptying the house out, so it can be sold. Carmel is a second-generation Irish lass who was born in England.

Carmel and her husband Joe are having problems. Her best friend Karen has become unfriendly, all of the sudden. A lot of things suddenly pile up upon Carmel and she feels overwhelmed. She finds out that her mother had been an unwilling resident of a Mother-Baby home in Ireland, a place that a mass grave of 800+ babies and small children were buried in. Carmel begins to figure out the reasons for her mother's mental issues that she had suffered from, all of Carmel's life.

With no strong ties to her home with Joe, she heads to Ireland and begins to investigate what happened to lead her mother to be imprisoned at the home and how it changed her family. She finds out that she had an older brother, who possibly perished at the Home.

Relying on senior citizen's memories of the accounts that involved her parents so long ago, Carmel starts to find out the truth for herself.

This was a pretty good book, it has some historical facts, about the Mother-Baby homes and what happened to the poor women and their babies. The Irish history was interesting. Very sad, but good.

I received a complimentary copy from #netgalley #irishfiction @netgalley of #mymotherschildren and was under no obligation to post a review.

The author gives a story, although fictional, it gives us an idea of what really went on in Ireland when evil people abused and sold children. Talk about child trafficking this is one of the worst, or the bones of 800 children thrown in a septic tank, all true!
This is a story of family, love and loss, and finding new. Discovering after the loss of a parent and a sibling, that she has another brother she never knew about and a search filled with pain, and discovery.
Yes, I think this story should be told and we should remember what happened in Tauom, Ireland. The author gives us an idea of the heartache they caused with her moving family story, especially those that survived.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Poolbeg Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

The cover of this book features a probably wooden table top with a photograph of a young boy laid on it. The boy’s face has been obscured/erased in the photograph. There are pretty little blue flowers around the photograph that I think are forget-me-nots which would be super relevant to the content of the book. The genres listed for this book are General Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction & Women’s Fiction which all fit well. Of course, the book is based on the true story of the Irish Mother & Baby homes, but the way the author writes it makes it feel personal, as if she knows someone that has gone though, what one of the main character Tess endured.

The main character of Carmel has to empty her mother Tess’s old home as she has died. The one item of furniture she has decided to is the record player, which is described perfectly, in fact my parents had one similar to the one described in the book. Carmel isn’t sure why but she decides at the last minute to have one last look through it. It is whilst doing so that she finds an old letter. The letter is from her father to her mother, the think that strikes Carmel as strange is the address that the letter was sent to, a mother & baby home. This sets Carmel thinking why her mother has never spoken about the baby she had and why her parents just didn’t get married. Using the letter and clues she gleans from it she works out the era her mum was in the mother & baby home, and another woman is mentioned as she is the one smuggling letters in and out of the home for her parents. Carmel is naturally a little stunned and doesn’t read much into a conversation she has with one of her mum’s neighbours, but that conversation makes much more sense to Carmel later, further into her investigation and search for her older sibling. Carmel is eager to find her sibling as she feels so alone now her mother has died and prior to that her beloved brother also died from a heart condition. Luckily the gene connected to this hereditary heart condition is not present in Carmel. Carmel travels to Ireland, staying with her Aunt Julia. Julia reveals that she knew about the baby boy Tess had in the Mother & Baby Home in Tuam and shows Carmel a list of babies that died. In fact, she also shows her newspaper articles about the scandal of babies, bodies being found buried in the home’s grounds. It turns out that Tess had found out that her son was on the list of babies that did not survive despite being told by those at Tuam at the time that the baby was being adopted. Carmel has a very emotional visit to a shrine made in the Tuam Home grounds. Just when Carmel thinks everything is over, she decides to speak to the brave woman who smuggled letters in and out of the home and discovers that perhaps her brother could still be alive despite being on the list of dead. During her search for her brother Carmel does reconnect with other family members and learns more about her mother and father too.

All the while this is going on Carmel is struggling within her own marital relationship, and her best friend is becoming more and more distant from her, she truly feels alone in her search. Maybe that’s why it takes her a while to see what has been happening right under her own nose. I think her search for information about her sibling keeps her going and prevents her from become depressed herself. It’s not long since her mother’s death, before that was her brother’s death. Carmel worries she may end up with mental health issues herself, much like her mother. However, the more she searches, the more obvious it becomes what triggered her mother’s depression.

This book really does cover a lot of quite controversial subjects, from religion, unwed mothers, homosexuality, adultery, depression, and relationships. I found the book thought provoking on a lot of different levels, and it had me questioning how many women still wonder about where the children ripped from their arms in these institutions are? How many of these children have lost opportunities to meet or learn about their biological parents? I have read quite a few books set around the infamous Magdalene Laundries/Mother & Baby Homes, this one came across as really realistic and I felt tugged in and invested in the plot very early on. I felt myself thinking about those women and their babies long after I had finished reading.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were that I had really loved reading a sad, sad story based around true events. So much going on. A look at Ireland, mentions of the mother & baby homes particularly the one in Tuam and the stigma surrounding unwed mothers, babies born out of wedlock, homosexuality, religion, and mental health.....I loved the very end though had kind of guessed at what would happen.

To sum up, I really enjoyed reading this book even though it is a quite sad story. It’s difficult to believe that young women were hidden away and their babies taken from them and adopted. The cruelty they had to put up with from the Catholic Church was horrendous. In fact, I think it’s no wonder Tess had mental health problems in the book with all that she went through. Another horrid thought is that all this was going on only a few decades ago. I think this fictional book is all the more poignant and at times heart-breaking when you know it is based on facts.

Absorbing story of a woman who discovers a shocking letter while going through her late mother's things and embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind its mystery. Along the way, Carmel's closest relationships become sorely tested and new ones are formed. There are twists, an unwelcomed turn of events, and heart-warming revelations. Although fiction, the institution at the heart of the story is not.

The Irish homes established to help unwed mothers and their children from the 1920s up to the 60s, specifically the one at Tuam, which is highlighted in this story, have recently been exposed as cruel and punishing. It's hard to imagine the abuse and neglect the mothers and innocent children faced while in their care. Carmel's story follows one thread, but there must be hundreds more. I found it hard to put the book down at about the half-way mark. After a few surprises that show up toward the end of the book, the conclusion is satisfying and wraps up nicely.

Thank you to Netgalley.com and Poolbeg Press for an ebook Advanced Reader Copy.

This was one of the best books that I have read in a while. It was well written and one that almost anyone can relate to. I was raised by an Irish mother in America and found many of the stories very relatable. I would highly recommend this book for anyone to read It revealed many secrets that exist in most families

A heart wrenching story of the cruelty the Irish nuns and priests forced upon vulnerable young ladies and the horror of what these pregnant girls had to endure
A tale of Tess who was forced to give up her child to adoption and how it was kept a secret until she died and then her daughter unravels the mystery surrounding her long lost sibling
Wonderfully written and a happy ending, I really enjoyed reading this book

Wow loved this book. I feel for those poor girls that had to give their babies up years ago. This book took me back to the likes of the true stories of the Magdalene House

Heart-renching story of the forced removal of babies from their unwed mothers. Powerful saga that is rich and captivating. Emotional, immersive, and hard to put down. Wonderfully written and captivating

Knowing several friends who have given up babies for adoption or are the babies given up made this book resonate with me. I liked this book enough to keep reading day and night to learn more.

I really enjoy books that even through they are fictional, they are told in such a remarkable way that they truly give you a glimpse into that time. This is definitely one of those. The theme of this book is very sad, but I feel like the story is one that sticks with you. It covers several controversial topics such as in wed mothers, religion, mental health and religion. Overall I felt that the writing was strong and it is absolutely a sort that needs told!!

I enjoyed this read. I was invested in Carmels story and her search for her sibling she never knew she had. It was an insight into how people were treated and the illegal adoptions that took place and the idea that many people would never have known their true identities. Carmel had so many tragedies thrown her way over the past years and I was rooting for things to get better and I was not disappointed at the end. Thoroughly enjoyable read and would reccomend. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this title in rreturn for my review.

A book about secrets and finding yourself even through the path to get there is not easy. The treatment of unwed mothers and their babies is a sad part of Ireland’s history. This book unravels the past about Carmel’s mother but in doing so brings to light Carmel’s own past and enables her move forward .

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
The history of the mother and baby homes always holds a lot of tragedy and this fictional portrayal does as well. The falsified death records, the selling of babies, it all makes people's lives and histories very difficult to unravel.
Not to give any spoilers, I'll just say there are other major events that happen in Carmel's life while she is digging to find the truth of her family.

I was captivated straight away. I couldn't put this down! The story is about Carmel whose marriage of 20 years is breaking down and about her mother and brother who have passed away recently. She was very close to them both. As she is clearing her mums house she comes across a letter which changes everything. She finds out her mother had a secret baby in Ireland when she was 16 in one of the mother and baby homes which were run by the church at the time. Carmel realises why her mum had so many mental illnesses throughout her life she must have had to give this baby up which caused her a lot of mental trauma. But the more Carmel starts digging up the past about the mother and baby homes she finds out there were illegal adoptions and a mass grave of 800 babies that was recently discovered. The truth about what happened to her mothers baby seems like a sad ending and one she will never find out!
Carmel will need to keep digging if she is to find out what happened to her secret brother all those years ago. I will not say anymore but you will have to read the book to find out what happens next!

I would highly recommend reading this book you will not be disappointed.

I hadn't read much about the mother and baby homes from the past but after reading this book I definitely want to find out more about this part of history that is rarely spoken about.
Thank you net galley for this copy and an honest review.

Irish mother and Baby homes were one of the worst places to be sent as an unmarried pregnant girl. You worked long and hard hours in all kinds of weather with the barest of food and clothing. Than, your baby was ripped from your hands and was sold to whoever paid the highest price. The mother's were told their baby's had died.
A great story.