When I Had a Little Sister: The Story of a Farming Family Who Never Spoke by Catherine Simpson was an interesting book which could have benefitted from a bit more editing.

On the 1st December 2013 Catherine’s little sister killed herself.

“When did she decide to die? Was it before midnight on Friday the 6th, because she couldn’t face another night, or was it before dawn on Saturday the 7th, because she couldn’t face another day?”

She was doing her Christmas shopping when she found out that Tricia had killed herself in the farmhouse where they grew up.

“Shock and grief are very physical, and it will be weeks before I lose the sensation of reeling backwards, of staggering, unable to grasp onto anything sure and safe that will enable me to regain my balance and find my footing again.”

After her sister’s death Catherine found some diaries written by her and was able to understand what she had experienced prior to her death.

When I Had a Little Sister provided a fresh perspective on living with a family member with mental health issues and also on life after a family member commits suicide.

My first book from this author and I wasn’t disappointed. The authors story telling is based on her family’s story which means her feelings shine through making the reading of this book easy and one you can’t book down. The book is also one of tragedy so be aware but well worth reading.

Unfamiliar as I am to posting about non-fiction books, there was something compelling about When I Had a Little Sister when I heard it was available for review that meant I pressed the button to request, I’m so glad I did. When I Had a Little Sister is a thoughtful, loving account of a relative suffering from mental illness told by a sister whose love shines through in every word,

I loved the way Catherine Simpson told the history; there was no linear pattern and that felt right, it was as if she was telling the story for the first time, allowing herself (and thereby us) to go off, not quite at a tangent, but to move through the tales of her extended family pretty much as one would expect a friend to do. Introducing us to those important people from her childhood and sharing some memory of them that she’d plucked from her heart. Not perfect of course, but then this is a tale of honest, and no one is perfect.

I related so well to her family, probably because in a way they reminded me of my own. Not in experiences granted, but certainly in the way things were dealt with; particularly by her mother. Those closing down of questions, the shying away from discussing the important things, I could identify with it all. So I could understand how Tricia’s illness was not spoken about directly, why the questions remained unanswered.

It’s written in a easygoing style which I found really engaging and captivating. Even in the depths of despair, through the frustration, Catherine’s love for her sister is so plainly evident it’s both touching and heartbreaking. I guess that is why, even though the heart of the memoir, the depression, the bi-polar, might have been difficult to read, I didn’t find it so. The author was unlikely to get the answers she craved, but I shared in the desire to find a reason, to examine Tricia’s life and see if there was a catalyst for her illness. The tale is tragic, what loss of such a young woman would not be tragic; but it isn’t depressing. Through the losses there is laughter, silliness and yes, yet again, love,

I’m not going to reduce this to a “I couldn’t put it down” snapshot, though I did read it in a day (make of that what you will), but I will say I really enjoy the glimpse into the heart of the family. I put the book down and immediately bought the author’s previous book (Truestory), and I look forward to reading more of her writing. When I Had a Little Sister is something special, thank you for sharing the story.

I thank the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book and give an HONEST opinion in return.

When I had a sister is a heartbreaking memoir of family, loss and mental illness. At 46 Cathy Simpson’s younger sister took her own life, after suffering for many decades with mental illness. The book covers their childhood living on a farm in Lancashire, their relationship as sisters and their immediate family.

Due to the nature of a memoir, I find it is difficult to review someone’s personal experiences. I found this to be an emotional read, it was well written and brutally honest.

Suicide is still very much a taboo subject, so well done to Cathy Simpson for sharing her painful story.

This is a moving memoir about the life and death of Catherine’s younger sister Tricia. We hear about life on the farm, stories from her childhood, some of which are similar to mine, the family and life on the farm. The story is peppered with humour as well as complete sadness and heartache.

After Tricia’s death Catherine finds her diaries in her possessions and delves back into her thoughts and dreams as well as sad and suicidal moments. She was able to piece together bits of her life she wasn’t aware of and giving her insight into the months before.

She agonises over how she feels she could have supported her sister better. The family never really spoke about things that mattered. Could she have got through to Tricia and prevented her taking her own life?

She paints a very real picture of mental health and how it’s not easy to deal with and her deep sadness for the loss of a much loved sister who had everything to live for. Although the book isn't easy reading I do recommend it.

#WhenIHadALittleSister is a wonderful, heartbreaking read. It is a true account of the author's family life growing up in a Lancashire farming community. It starts with the death by suicide of Tricia, the author Catherine Simpson's sister who was in her 40s. From the initial shock of the phone call giving her the news to the struggle to come to terms with the questions about what she could have done differently to support Tricia, Catherine gives a searingly honest account of her sister's life. This might sound dreadfully depressing, but in reality it isn't. The account of their childhood is lovely in its description of the sort of benign neglect that was normal for our generation. The freedom to play outside using their imaginations and any props they could find shines out from the page.
Catherine uses family photos and Tricia's diaries to try to make sense of her sister's life. The warmth of her writing about Tricia allows us to see her as someone who you would have liked. Her humour is as apparent as her depression, and her love of her animals and farming is shown as much as her paranoia. I hope Catherine has found peace from her examination of Tricia's diaries which show that mostly she liked her sisters and knew that they cared about her.
I would recommend this book as a warm account of a real family. Even though I already knew what had happened to Tricia, I kept hoping that she would win through in her battles with the system, that the mental health services would be able to help her. Catherine doesn't shy away from the guilt she feels from not being able to prevent the death, but the details of Tricia's life as shown in her diaries make it obvious that she did not want the family to know what she was feeling. This is much more than a tribute to a sister: it is a wonderful account of the idiosyncrasies of a whole family. #NetGalley#WhenIHadALittleSister

An extremely insightful peek into the life of a family and how they deal with mental illness, the invisible disability that affects so many out there.
It took me a while to get into the story, but slowly I was pulled into the concerned world of Catherine, who catalogues her younger sister, Tricia's sinking into depression, Bi-Polar and an extremely sad end.
Peppered with old family photos, you get to see the characters you are reading about, and it hits home harder, that this is a real-life story, not something spun from an author's mind.
Having experienced Bi-Polar as a family member of a sufferer, I could relate to a lot of what was happening in Catherine's life.
A sometimes uncomfortable, but extremely heartwrenching read.
Thank you to NetGalley, 4th Estate and William Collins for an advanced reader copy of this book.

This book was hard to read in places and the author has been really brave publishing it. This a raw and painful account of how depression can affect a family. It is honest and interesting and sad.

Than you to Netgalley for my copy.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this for my unbiased review. It was a tough read as I imagine it was also tough to write. It gave a good insight into mental health & the affects it can have on a whole family. It was very honest but a bit too long for my liking.

This is quite a difficult book to review as it was also quite a difficult book to read.

Upsetting at times, this memoir deals with mental illness, suicide, family relationships and life in general. It is quite raw and I thought several times that I hope writing this book helped the author to feel a little bit better about things that have happened in her life.

As much as I admire the author for feeling able to write this book, and I don’t want to take away from the importance of the subject matter in the slightest, I did struggle at times as the narrative did jump around a little – mostly in the first half of the book. At around 45% I did wonder whether to put the book aside but I did carry on to the end and I am glad I did.

I feel perhaps the book was a bit too long and that certain parts of it could have been chopped out without reducing the quality of the text, but that may just be me.

Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A difficult story to read about. It addresses the effect, difficulties and challenges that occur within a family when mental health illness is part of the family.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Harper Collins uk for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review.

It was not quite what I expected. But it tells of how hard it is for the family of people with mental health as well as them. Well written and hard to but your deep feeling out there for all to see

When I Had a Little Sister is a sad memoir about loss, mental illness and family, written by the author in the wake of her sister's suicide in 2013 when she was 46 years old.

Cathy Simpson's memoir recants details of her sister's life and mental illness. Tricia, the youngest of three sisters born to a farming family in Lancashire, suffered from mental health problems for over 30 years. Simpson examines their shared childhood growing up in a "family who never spoke" and the implications of this on her sister's and her own depression. We follow Tricia's ups and downs, and learn of the frustrations and complications of caring for a mentally ill relative in the UK.

It is always tough reviewing memoirs, as it often feels like giving them a lower rating is somehow nullifying the author's experiences and life, or criticising their "story". However I will say that I imagine it is incredibly difficult to write about a mentally ill family member, particularly when you are trying to piece together much of your knowledge of them and their interior self from their own diaries - and I think it was generally done well here. My main issue was that some of the chapters didn't feel like they fitted together properly, as sometimes the topic changed completely between paragraphs, only to return to the previous topic a paragraph later, and perhaps could have benefitted from better editing.