The Place Where Love Should Be

I found the first few chapters rather slow. The content was painful and heartbreaking, but as the the rest of the family were brought in I became hooked. The characters felt real, if not rather irritating for their neglect and inaction. The description of post partem psychosis was deep and profound. Overall I enjoyed the book, the flow of the speech and the structure made it east reading.

Excellent book highlighting the blues or postnatal depression and psychosis. More help needs to be done for this and this book shows the helpless of people close and also the way they can ignore it and stick heads in the sand.
Lots of plotlines within the book.

I received an advanced copy via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, it was quiet, sad, insightful and beautiful.

All the characters led such small lives but the author created a wonderfully, intricate web around them that transformed them into so much more. Evie, stuck in a moment so many years before and unable to allow herself to emotionally evolve. Joanna and her 'perfect' life and her neediness. William and his panic and inability to stand up for himself and his family. And Francine, her passion and love, stifled by a family not able to fully embrace her.

Her characters are skillfully flawed and real. Her treatment of post partum depression realistic and soul wrenching. I felt Evie's panic and confusion, her guilt in not being able to cope. Williams inertia was maddening and Joanna's need to control while hiding her fear of exclusion was written excellently. Ellis' prose was delightful to read, I never skipped over sentences and paragraphs to get to the story which is rare for me.

The only fault I can find, which is a very small fault, is that the story felt rushed at the end. There was no big revelation and no neat ending. But, I suppose that's real life isn't it?

I received a copy of this book on request at netgalley. I must say I enjoyed reading this book. The story describes the interlinked lives of three women, the protagonist and new mother Evie, her stepmother, Francine and her birth mother, Helena. Evie has struggled with abandonment issues after her birth mother leaves her when she’s six, following the birth of Evie’s sister, Joanna. At her tender age she is unable to understand what exactly happened and the other adults in the scenario shut her out. Since then Evie has fought tooth and nail against building a bond with her new step mother, Francine out of loyalty to her mother. In the present day scenario, Evie finds herself helpless as a new mother. She feels overwhelmed and burdened by the constant care that the newborn demands from her. Sadly, she is also unable to ask for help from her current family. In desperation she conducts an internet search for her birth mother Helena and finds her. Midway through their reconnection however, circumstances change requiring her to lean on Francine as well. The story is told from the perspective of Evie and Francine mostly but with insightful injections from Evie’s father as well.
I thought the author did really well in sharing with us the feeling of confusion and drowning a new mother can experience. The idea that not all mothers experience motherhood in the same way and the fact that the not-so-happy stories are often hushed up and not discussed, can make a struggling mother feel alienated. Having experienced what her mother went through, is a revelation for Evie and helps rebuild their relationship. Her relationship with Francine too changes as she comes to realize the safe haven her second mother provided and continues to provide. I did feel however, that there was further scope for Francine’s character and the inclusion of another lover was not really needed. I also found myself feeling sorry for William, Evie’s father who lives in denial and avoids confrontations. As a new mother myself, I have been blessed with an excellent support system as have my friends so it was a very eye-opening read for me and I’m grateful to the author for taking me on a journey through the eyes of Evie, a mum who was hurting.

This book warmed my heart, it had such a beautiful conclusion. It was nice to have a book highlighting mental health especially post natal depression and showing you can get through it with some help. Lovely story with some lovely characters.