The Paper Bracelet
by Rachael English
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Pub Date 27 Feb 2020 | Archive Date 19 Aug 2020
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Description
Every baby's bracelet held a mother's secret...
Inspired by heartrending real events, the gripping new novel from No. 1 bestselling author Rachael English. Readers of Diane Chamberlain and Kathryn Hughes will love this book.
'A true storyteller who keeps you turning the pages' Cathy Kelly
For almost fifty years, Katie has kept a box of secrets.
It dates from her time working as a nurse in a west of Ireland mother and baby home, and contains a notebook with details of the babies and young women she met there. It also holds many of the babies' identity bracelets.
Following the death of her husband, Katie makes a decision she has long kept at bay. She posts a message on an internet forum, knowing that the information she possesses could help reunite adopted people with their birth mothers.
Soon, the replies are rolling in, and Katie encounters success, failure, heartache and joy as she finds herself in the role of part-detective, part-counsellor - chasing down leads, piecing together stories, and returning many of the bracelets to their original owners.
But there is one bracelet in the box that holds the key to a story that may never be told ...
The Paper Bracelet is a gripping and moving story of secrets, lies and a love that never dies.
Reader love for Rachael English:
'A cracking page-turner in the best tradition of Maeve Binchy' Patricia Scanlan
'Beautiful, compelling, and sincere in the way of the very best stories and the best books' Irish Independent
'An evocative read ... powerful ... If you read authors such as Diane Chamberlain, Sheila O'Flanagan or Maeve Binchy then you should also check this out' Between My Lines
'Enchanting, emotional, heartbreaking, ultimately uplifting and just perfect... Rachael English is a wonderful storyteller' Being Anne
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781529380620 |
| PRICE | £13.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 400 |
Featured Reviews
Tamsin P, Reviewer
This is a moving fictional account of real events in history.
Katie, soon to be 70 and recently widowed, reveals to her niece Beth that she once worked as a nurse in a mother and baby home and has kept many of the paper bracelets used to identify the babies.
Soon Katie and Beth are working together to reunite these lost babies with their bracelets and their mothers.
I loved the cast of characters in this book and became completely invested in their back stories as well as their present lives. The book itself is well written and nicely paced. I did not guess the big twist exactly, but I had a hunch that something similar was afoot!
I enjoyed this book and will look out for more of this authors works. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.
Natasha P, Reviewer
Absolutely beautiful.
A real heartwarming yet heartbreaking story all into one. You really felt like you knew every character and willed them on in their search.
A book based on real life events that make you hug your children that little harder.
This book will stay with me for sometime.
Sophie M, Reviewer
This is a brilliant book, you will love it!
The story of the treatment of young women in Irish mother and baby homes has been on the press in recent years and has always bewildered me as to how and why this was allowed to happen. Whilst this story does not provide those answers it does give insight and perspective as to what it was like to be placed in one and how this has affected generations of communities.
Told in dual timelines, we meet Katie who had worked as a Nurse at the fictional mother and baby home, Carrigbrack. Having kept the name bracelets of babies born under her care she decides to unite them with the children they belonged to with the help of her niece, Beth.
We also meet Patricia, hidden away by her family and forced to relinquish her son Paul. Within her narrative we meet others in the home and learn of the cruel treatment by those who claimed to be doing gods work.
I kept having to remind myself that this was based on real accounts as the encounters with the nuns and their treatment of women was so brutal. And whilst these tales were incredibly moving the book does ensure some happy endings.
I enjoyed (if that’s the right word) every single line written, and think The author has told these women’s story in a compassionate narrative that makes me want to read more of her books and more of the subject matter.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
Riki Wilchins, Clare Howell
Biographies & Memoirs, LGBTQIA, Parenting & Families
