What a heartbreaker! Tissues at the ready With this one! The narration has good pace and flow,and the narrators voices seemed right for the characters they were portraying. I listened to this as an audio book and felt the narrators really helped bring the story to life. The narrator narrated the book beautifully, and I loved the depictions of the different characters. Recommend throughly!

I had a reason for requesting this book and if you read on that will be revealed.

This (audio) read was going great until the fairytale ending. A good depiction of how life was for single unmarried mothers in Ireland in the 1930’s and indeed up until I would say the 1970’s. Very well written and very well researched. I found some of the conversations between characters a bit stilted but acceptable in that you need a background, and of course not all readers are going to be Irish or familiar with the story of the Mother and Baby homes/ Magdalene laundries of our past.

This would not have been a typical read for me up to 2 years ago.
My heart broke in a few instances because the story was part of my family which I didn’t know about until October 2019 when by chance I had done dna testing for the craic as we Irish say and I discovered what turned out to be a half nephew in Texas, USA.
Reading this type of genre gives me further information about the life my mother had when she gave birth to my sister in 1954.
She wasn’t in a Magdalene laundry, she and her baby resided in a Mother and Baby home until my uncle got a hefty advance on his wages and paid over £100 to the nuns so my mother could leave. Subsequently her baby girl was adopted (indeed sold!!) to America.

Thank you Rachel Wesson for giving these women their stories (and I apologise for taking over this review with my story!!)

In memory of Mary Shelly 1929 - 1996
And of Nora Shelly born Dublin 1954
Died as Penelope Range in Texas 1998

Many thanks to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this.

North Carolina, 1941: Carol Anderson’s dreams of being a mother are dashed when a drunk driver hits her car, killing her unborn child and forcing her to have an emergency hysterectomy. Meanwhile, in Ireland, Kate Ryan leaves her family’s farm to help her uncle out at his pub. While there, she meets and falls in love with American pilot Tony, who is being held as a prisoner of war by neutral Ireland. When he and the rest of the British POWs are released, Tony plans to rejoin the fight before coming back to marry Kate. The last night before he leaves, they sleep together, and Kate ends up pregnant. Kate loves this child immediately, as it is a piece of Tony, but her mother is furious and has her taken to the local convent. There, Kate must work in the laundry room in penance for her “sins”. When Kate gives birth to Ava, they are kept apart, and Kate can only dream of the two of them escaping the convent as she is forced to work for years to “pay off” her expenses the church incurred by taking her in.

The brutal experiences unwed mothers went through in convents is something people need to know about; it is awful the tragedies that occurred there “in the name of God.” I feel like the book could have been titled better, as the event mentioned in the title happens about 2/3 of the way through the book. Maybe because I knew what was going to happen, I had my heart emotionally prepared for the separation and never really felt the depth of the pain that I believe the author intended us to feel.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

The book opens in North Carolina in September 1941 as Carol Anderson is coming to terms with the repercussions from a recent car accident. The ability to conceive and carry her own child is no longer possible and she must try and come to terms with this whilst her husband is away as a fighter pilot as the Americans have recently entered into the war. Carol goes through much mental trauma and her supposed actions are frowned upon by her in-laws. They saw something and mistook it as being something else meaning adoption is now not possible also. At first, I wondered why was Carol featuring in the story and then it clicked pretty quickly with me although connections to the main plot of the book and Carol were not really established until towards the end. At various points in the story we move to a chapter from Carol’s viewpoint but to be honest it wasn’t her I wanted to be reading about, it was Kate and what she was going through. Carol didn’t hold my attention at all really not that the writing from her point was bad. It wasn’t at all. I knew why she needed to be there and it proved a solid all round viewpoint from which to form your opinion of the overall themes and topics in the book but Kate was such a brilliant, mesmerizing and standout character that it was with her that I wanted to be all the time. Galway December 1941 and we see how Kate lives a harsh existence on her family’s farm. Her brothers and sisters have all emigrated bar one, her father is ill, and her mother is just cruel with her sharp barbs and comments. Her mother is bitter, twisted and mean and is dominated by the rulings and teachings of the church. She has it set in her mind that Kate will become a nun but that’s so far removed from what Kate actually wants for herself. There was such a good understanding and explanation from the author of life in rural Ireland and how everyone knew each other’s business and were afraid to express themselves and step out of line when it came to anything to do with the church. Rachel Wesson is a new author for me but after enjoying Stolen From Her Mother so much, despite the tough subject matter, I definitely will be reading more by this very talented author in the future. From the moment I began reading I felt that the author really knew her stuff especially when it came to the parts of the book set in Ireland. It was like she was writing from the heart as well as having done extensive research. Then I discovered the author had been born and raised in Ireland and it all made sense for there is no Irish women who does not know of the abuse and horrors that befell the countless women who ended up in the Magdalene laundries. We may not have always learnt about it in history class in school but certainly over the last number of years especially as horrific stories have been brought into the public arena and it’s only now we know what the Church did to so many innocent women who did not deserve what they went through.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nothing I say can really express how much I enjoyed this audiobook. The characters, especially Kate are so fantastic, I really wanted Kate to be happy. The story is set during the second world war and is around a convent where unmarried mothers go. The nuns were awful to the young girls and often sold their babies to rich people who can't have children. I almost cried along the way with Kate's story. The narrator was excellent and really added to the atmosphere. This book will stay with me for a very long time and I cannot wait to read or listen to more books by Rachel.

I am both moved and heartbroken over the events that this book to me through. Kate’s heart and strong will to survive is remarkable. It’s gutting to think people actually treated others in this inhumane way. Honestly, one of the best books I’ve read. I’m in awe of Rachel Wesson’s beautiful writing of this book. I adored Before We Were Yours and this one brought on the same emotions and tears. This book will remain with me for a long time.

Narration by Maeve Smyth eloquently and perfectly captured Kate’s voice for #StolenFromHerMother.

This is a well written historical fiction novel brilliantly portraying the hardships faced by young women in Ireland who were sent to the Magdalen laundries,. This is a truly shameful part in both Ireland's and the Catholic Church's history, which leaves you feeling dreadfully sad for the young mothers who were subjected to forced labour, as well as psychological and physical maltreatment.

Beyond the facts relating to the Magdalen laundries, the story began during WWII; although it's not really a war story - with the American couple who adopted the two children being painted in a good light. The Andersons did add a little warmth to what is essentially a pretty bleak tale.

I did not like the ending at all and I'm sad to say that it ruined the overall experience for me - amazingly, right after the ending there is sales blurb, where apparently this and other books by this Author are supposed to have you 'smiling at the happy ending' - what a joke - the ending was sad and pretty poor!

In terms of the Audio, the Narrator speaks really fast - It's not a typical Narration, which for a book this size would be at least another couple of hours - although I got used to the rapid pace after a while.

Despite its shortcomings and horrendous ending, I would still consider this book a worthwhile read, if for nothing more then to know the horrendous circumstances surrounding the Magdalen laundries.

Thanks NetGallery and Bookouture Audio for my copy of this book.

This book is one that I requested because I am trying to read more historical books this year and the premise sounded like an interesting one. One of my favorite books is a memoir from a mother who had a son she had to give up for adoption and this topic always draws me. I really like how this one was written.

I am not a fan of perfect endings, or when things always go right and I think that is why this book is something I liked. It moves slower than I would like and it doesn't have too much going on, but it is emotional and real. We follow Kate as she falls in love, gets pregnant, loses the love of her life, and then in a sense loses her own life, becoming enslaved to a horrible single mother's shelter. Then we follow a couple who lost their unborn baby and the ability to ever have a child of their own. Somehow these two sets of people end up having their lives interweaving, but this takes time to be revealed.

A lot of people have complaints about different timelines and sets of people but I think that the balance was really good. I personally wanted to read more about Kate and Eva and that's what we get. The book is mostly about them but we get enough of the couple's story to also care for them and know how their life progresses.

Kate's story moves at a slow pace but I liked reading about her challenges. The injustice she faces makes us as a reader feel more invested in her and have a more emotional reaction to the story. We see the love she has for her child and it pains us to see what they both go through. I think the natural progression of the story was really well done. Nothing felt fake. The way the characters acted was not overdone but was raw and real.

I think I would have got bored physically reading this at some points in the story but listening to it is my recommendation if you like listening to audiobooks while doing other stuff. The narrator read faster than a lot of narrators so I had to take the speed down than what I normally read it at, but part of this might be because of the accent. This is something I liked in this book. It took me a little to get used to the accent but once I did it helped build the character for me. I like how the narration was done and it was easy to follow along with.

This was a new author for me. I really enjoyed it! It wasn't our typical WW2 book, but I liked that. The narrator was fantastic as well!

This book is perfect for someone who loves war stories or for people who enjoy a are they going to be reunited book? It is a heartbreaking book for sure. It wasn’t a completely horrible book, but it also was not one of my favorites! I think I would of enjoyed it better if it was not in a war time setting.

So heartbreaking, this book had me reaching for the tissues. From the atrocities at the convent to the determination of never giving up looking for her daughter, Kate's journey brought out all of the emotions.

I can't even imagine basically being locked up for being an unwed mother and all of the atrocities that were shared about the convent in Galway. One of the best parts of this book was Ava's spirit that seemed to match Kate's. I loved the part of 3 year old Ava making sure to kick anyone that tried to take her away from her mother.

I'm also glad that the Andersons were painted in a good light as well. Their compassion to help added additional warmth to the story where needed.

I enjoyed the audiobook version of this book. The narrator was engaging and was almost how I would imagine Kate sounded like. Such an enjoyable, warm, but heartbreaking read!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of this Audiobook for my honest review.

In a Nutshell: A very emotional experience but somewhat clichéd, especially towards the end. It can be considered a must-read for the facts it throws light on.

Story:
1941, Ireland. Kate Ryan is struggling to manage on her family farm with a sick father, a demanding mother and limited food rations due to the ongoing war. When American pilot Tony enters her life, he sweeps her off her feet. Unfortunately, Tony is supposed to rejoin the war efforts and promises to return some day and marry Kate. Only after his departure does Kate realise that she’s carrying his child. When her family finds out, she is forced into the local Magdalen laundry. Will Kate be able to keep her child safe and maybe even escape some day from the horrible circumstances in the home run by the nuns?
A parallel story also set in 1941 comes from the point of view of Carol Anderson, a resident of North Caroline, USA. (In fact, the book begins with her story.) I won’t detail out her track here but it has an equally important role to play in the book.
The book is written in an omniscient third person perspective, beginning from 1941.

Where the story worked for me:
✔ The brilliant portrayal of the travails faced by young women in the Magdalen laundries run by the Catholic Church in Ireland. I had read Claire Keegan’s “Small Things Like These” last year and it threw a nice spotlight on these infernal institutions sabotaging the name of God while claiming to do his work. This story takes it even further and details out every possible abuse doled out by the nuns to the poor residents whose only “sin” was to be pregnant. Whether they were pregnant out of wedlock or raped or victims of incest didn’t matter. Who impregnated them was immaterial and not even frowned upon. This is a very shameful part in not just the history of Ireland but also of the Catholic Church.

✔ Related to the above, I loved how the author doesn’t castigate the church in a blanket statement. The fingers are pointed rightly and strongly at the culprits, but the story also spotlights a couple of religious figures in the story who try their best to go against the diktats of the authorities. Reality is never black or white, and I appreciate the author’s attempt at showing the story fairly. There is a line somewhere in the second half that God would never have condoned such atrocities done in his name, and I believe this with all my heart. It is those humans who start getting too big for their religious shoes who misuse his name for control and power.

✔ Beyond the facts related to the Magdalen laundries, the main characters are the strongest point of the story. They all come across as realistic and human in their decisions and behaviour. Carol, her husband Josh, Kate and a couple of other characters leave a strong mark.

✔ If you are the kind who cry at the drop of a hat while reading emotional scenes, consider yourself warned and keep a big box of tissues handy. This book hits HARD! I am not a crier yet I found myself struggling with my emotions in many of the scenes. To a certain extent, the book felt like misery porn, but quite a lot of the misery was relevant to the story, so can’t really complain about this.

Where the story could have worked better for me:
❌ I hated the title as it partly misrepresents the book and partly reveals spoilers. The exact title as written on Goodreads is “Stolen from Her Mother: An utterly heartbreaking World War Two page-turner set between Ireland and America”. The first four words immediately tell you that there’s a baby girl in the story who is taken away from her mother. Guess when this incident occurs? Around the 63% mark!!! Not that there was much of a suspense before. Though the two narratives—Irish and US—don’t converge until a long way into the story, it is very easy to see where things are going. Thus the story is just a matter of “how” rather than “what”. A further misnomer is that reference to WWII. The only thing mainly connected to WWII is the time period and the rationing. It’s not a typical war story and tagging it as such will drive away all those who are saturated with the recent flood of WWII fiction.

❌ The writing style didn’t click with me. At times, there were a few tiny gaps in the plot continuity. Some events were just taken for granted as understood, but they seem like incomplete links in the chain of thought. On many occasions, historical/political events were referred to in a way that no one would in the normal course of conversation. For instance, when war planes are bombing your city, you would say exactly that; you would not mention the type of planes that were dropping the bombs. There is a lot of Irish history and politics in the initial quarter, not all of which was required for the story. There are also references to the London smog of 1952, the depression before the war, the racial conditions in the US, the Irish famine, mental health stigmas, adoption issues,... I feel it went too far in the coverage of topics. The Magdalen laundries are a potent enough topic and the book keeping its focus mainly on those would have worked wonderfully.

❌ The ending is too perfect, too clichéd, too well tied-together. It flattened the overall experience for me.


Feedback on the audiobook:
This book of about 380 pages has an audiobook clocking at just 8 hours. That itself should give you a big clue that the narrator speaks quite fast. (The usual audio length for a 350-odd page novel is about 11-12 hours.) After a long time, I found myself listening to a book at 1x speed. The narrator also has a very strong Irish accent and it took me a while to understand her enunciation. There were certain discrepancies in pronunciations, possibly due to accent differences. Like, “suit” was pronounced rhyming with ‘put’, Eva was always ‘Ava’. (I had noted the character name as ‘Ava’ and only the Amazon blurb showed me that the actual name was ‘Eva’.) Her voice is beautiful but I found her speed a distraction.
A general feedback for the audiobook is also that it sounded odd to hear the American timeline being narrated in a strong Irish accent. I know having two narrators wouldn’t have solved the problem because the stories merge towards the end, but still, it felt awkward to the ears.
Some of the other reviews suggest that the author’s note details the true events around this fictional story. The audio ARC didn’t have this section, and I feel like I missed out on a great opportunity to know more.

Despite the shortcomings, I would still consider this book a worthwhile read, if for nothing then to know the horrendous circumstances surrounding the Magdalen laundries. Avoid the audio and go for the reading experience, if possible.

3.75 stars from me.

My thanks to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “Stolen from Her Mother”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

Stolen from Her Mother is a heartbreaking story of Kate, who, at a young age, falls for an American and gets pregnant during the war. As an unwed mother was deemed incredibly shameful, Kate is sent to a convent where she and other pregnant women are poorly treated and have to endure difficult living conditions and hard labour. Kate has no rights to her daughter, Ava, and learns that Ava has been adopted. Although she desperately wants to find her, with Ava’s name changed and without a clue what country she was taken to, it seems a fruitless venture.

It’s hard to imagine something so heinous happening to so many women in Ireland. I kept thinking that they can’t get away with this. There were too many victims.

I really enjoyed the narrator’s voice and style. I found the ending a bit too cliche for my taste. Thanks to #netgalley for a copy in exchange for my views.

Based on true events with fictional characters, this book covers the the subject of single mothers who were shunned by their families because of being pregnant and forced to give up their babies. The girls would be sent to a nursing home for their pregnancy and the birth often working long hours in manual jobs. These homes were run by the church and funded by the families of the girls and prospective adopted parents, usually Americans. Hard to believe a christian could behave this way but it happened, the babies when grown up went on to seek the truth. You have to remember this was a work of fiction as there was some inconsistencies in the story. The narrater did a fab job and the story flowed well. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

The saddest story but one that was based on a truth that is now well known. Both threads of 5he story can’t help but pull at your heartstrings but I found the style of writing rather clumsy. Conversations between rural farming family members would never have included references to acts of law including the date. So it was spoiled for me.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio copy of Stolen from Her Mother by Rachel Wesson for an honest review. This audiobook is fabulous. The author and narrator portray the story as if it is a true one. I've read many books regarding this issue and this one will stick with me.

This is my first Rachel Wesson's: what an excellent writer I didn't know!

I read this book also as an audiobook, and I really loved the audio version, very moving and emotional.

When I chose this book I thought it was mainly about Magdalene laudries. Actually there's a lot more to the story, as we also get to know the background of both Kate (the Magdalene girl) and Carol (the adoptive mother) and their families. In most cases this is an added bonus, but in my case it wasn't, because I have a specific interest in the subject of mother and baby homes in Ireland, so i hoped the would be more about that.
I only say this because I want to underline that this book is beautiful and gorgeously written and my disappointment is only due to my specific interest.

I will definitely have a look at others Wesson's books, since I've really loved her style.
I really appreciated the writer's note at the end of the book, makes you want to research more about this subject.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In North Carolina, Carol loses her baby after being in a car accident. Not only did she lose her baby, she will be unable to have another.
In Ireland, Kate falls in love with an American. He leaves for war and she discovers she is pregnant. Her very religious mother forces her into a home for unwed mothers. The home, run by nuns, arranges adoptions in exchange for generous "donations". One day, Kate's daughter is gone. Will she ever see her again?

I did not love this book as much as I expected to. I enjoyed it and it was very enlightening. But I feel it didn't really get deep. Everything was surface level. It didn't make me <i>feel</i>.

I listened to the audio book. While I enjoyed listening to Maeve Smyth with her Irish accent, since half the story took was told from an American, POV, dual narrators would have enhanced it.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Grab the Kleenex! You will need it for this fantastic tear-jerker!

"Stolen From Her Mother" audiobook is set in Ireland in 1941. Kate and Tony fall in love, but Tony is sent to fight in the war before he and Kate get married. Kate finds out she is pregnant and is forced to go to a home for unwed mothers. While staying there Kate witnesses inhumane treatment and death of pregnant young girls in her situation.

Kate gives birth to a beautiful little girl she names Eva. The child favors Tony and is Kate's world. Then without warning the unthinkable happens.... the narcissist nuns at the home sell Eva to a man with a barren wife. Kate is devastated and vows to Eva "she'll never stop looking for her".

This is historical fiction, but it is so much more. Kate represents the stigma of being a unwed mother during the 1940's. Although it is more accepted to have a child out of wedlock in today's society, history clearly reflects the abuse and trauma these women endured. This is such a important topic that Rachel Wesson poignantly addresses in her descriptive novel. I enjoyed this audiobook narrated by Maeve Smyth and highly recommend it to all historical fiction lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the honor of reviewing this extraordinary audiobook. I really appreciate your kindness!