The Missing Pieces of Mum

A 5 star read.

Sally Herbert's mum had been abandoned as a baby, and was brought up in an orphanage. The author is middle aged and now is time to find out more about her roots. Sally had got interested in genealogy, and started to trace her family history.

A family story with many twists and turns; hardship. Although I've read a few true stories with similar subject matter, this wasn't all the same again, it was unpredictable, and very interesting and intriguing.

An excellent book with so many threads to it- not just the trying to trace her mum’s birth mother etc.

An emotional journey, very well-written, and an absorbing read.

Beautiful family story with lots of twists and turns. Very interesting, unpredictable and kept you hooked with every chapter. This was an emotional journey that was written very well.

What an extraordinary tale; part memoir, part genealogical discovery Sally Herbert documents what is known, and unknown, about the life of her mother Phyllis

Phyllis was born in 1937 and by the time she was 16 had two different birthdates, either March or December of that year. Her early life was dominated by institutions firstly the Bethany House where she'd been born to an unmarried mother and secondly the church-run orphanage, both in Ireland. Yet, by some measure Phyllis had been lucky she had a 'Guardian' a devout protestant well-wisher who paid for her education and kept an eye on her early adulthood. Phyllis always wondered if her attention was due to more than her faith.

Sadly, after a difficult start, Phyllis's adulthood was also full of woes and that in turn meant that her daughter Sally had a difficult upbringing too but mother and daughter remained close. This book is testament to that and Sally's determination to find out who Phyllis's mother really was...

An engaging read which relates the difficulties faced by many of those named, without sinking into misery memoir field.

Thanks to Net Galley, Ad Lib Publishers and Mardle Books for the advance copy of this book. The heart of this story is the author's mother, Phyllis, who grew up in an orphanage in Ireland, and subsequently endured a loveless marriage and never was able to feel like she belonged anywhere. As an adult her daughter begins the search for her mother's long lost family. The story is heart wrenching and tackles many social injustices. The first how her mother had ended up in the home in the first place, and then how difficult it was to get any information due to bureaucracy and government. This book is well written and informative. A beautiful tribute from Sally to her mother, who she clearly loved very dearly.