Here is another mother-child relationship story for you. I know there has been a lot lately but what can I do when they are all so good!
Goodreads Blurb
My Only Child by Sam Vickery
It’s a miracle when Katherine’s baby boy is born healthy. But his twin sister doesn’t survive, and when Katherine is told she can’t have any more children the loss is almost too much for her to bear.
Katherine always saw herself having a big family: she remembers how the loneliness of being an only child used to overwhelm her, and she is desperate to adopt a sibling for her son.
But her husband Davis won’t agree. He worries that Katherine will struggle when the new baby arrives. What if growing their family only adds to the grief she feels over losing her little girl? What if this breaks their marriage apart?
And Katherine is forced to make a choice. Give up the second child she has always dreamed of or risk losing the family she already has?
An unforgettable and heart-wrenching page-turner about fighting for those we love. Readers of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain and Kate Hewitt will remember this story forever.
Review
This is not one of those books where you are turning the page as quickly as possible to see what happens. There isn’t any dramatic twists and turns, no red herrings, and no drama, per se. Instead, what you are invited to experience is a certain period in a family’s life, particularly a mother who has not only been told one of her babies has died but due to an emergency hysterectomy, she can never birth another child.
I haven’t had the joy of experiencing motherhood in any form yet but I was hit hard with emotion while reading My Only Child. Any mother (or father, for that matter) reading the book is sure to be in floods of tears. The writing is so beautiful that it allows you to feel every bit of Katherine’s pain. There is a touching scene where she holds her little girl that just broke me.
Yet My Only Child doesn’t sugarcoat, dramatise, or even romanticise motherhood in any way. It just tells it like it is. There will be ups and downs. There will be moments of happiness and hardship. There will be moments where you feel like a terrible mother. There will be moments where you will protect your child at any cost. This realness is what makes My Only Child a great book.
What’s not mentioned in the blurb is that the reader also gets an insight into Katherine’s mother, Hazel. Alternating chapters are told from Hazel’s perspective as she tries to cope with her feelings of being pushed away by her daughter, while also presenting flashbacks that help us understand Hazel’s sometimes suffocating ways. Both Katherine’s and Hazel’s stories tie up neatly into one excellent reflection on motherhood.
My Only Child is available to buy now.
I was sent a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Joyful Antidotes 