A Wigwam for a Goose's Bridle

I haven’t finished a book in 9 months.  I used to be the sort of person who finished a novel in a night if it caught my attention, but a baby, as it happens, is quite demanding.  In the little down time you get, you sleep, or finally have (half) that cuppa, or do yet another load of washing.  I’ve picked up a few books across the year, with great intentions of reading and relaxing, but none of them have grabbed me, and with potentially days in between each short reading session, it’s been too hard to concentrate.

So I haven’t finished a book in 9 months – until this one, that is.  And I have to give a shoutout to the author, Sally Hepworth, for a reason other than how amazing this book is (we’ll get to that in a moment, I promise) – I know from social media that Sally had a baby about a week after I did, and so while I’ve been struggling to even read a book, this amazing woman has been writing them!

I recently had the fortune to a win copies of Sally’s 3 published novels to date (one more is expected next year).  I have an entire, overflowing shelf of books to be read, but there’s nothing like a delivery of sweet-smelling new books to remind you that you’d like to read.  I was immediately drawn to this novel – the only hardback in the package, a lovely cover (yes, I’m that shallow sometimes!), and maybe there was something about the title, now that I’m a mother too.

Alice has a teenage daughter, Zoe, who suffers severe social anxiety.  They cope, because Alice knows just how to care for her, and just how to make things ok.  They are a partnership, with Zoe’s father out of the picture and the only other family member a drunk Uncle.  But Alice is diagnosed with cancer, and things begin to unravel.  As Alice begins her treatments, she has no choice but to trust two strangers: Kate, a nurse, and Sonja, a social worker.  As the four lives become intertwined, they each face their own fears, fight their own battles, and deal with their own secrets.

This novel tackles the topics of cancer/terminal illness, social anxiety, domestic violence, subfertility, and of course relationships in general.  And yet, it is not too heavy, kept buoyant by injections of humour and Sally’s beautiful writing style.  Don’t get me wrong.  I cried.  A lot.  But I also laughed a lot, and felt frequently uplifted, finding those little snippets of hope in everyday life.

I loved this book.  As someone who battles with her own social anxiety, their were moments when I almost felt Sally knew me.  As the daughter of someone who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for their second cancer diagnosis, I appreciated her understanding of the patient and relative experience with healthcare systems, with scary diagnoses, and with sometimes even scarier treatments. As a healthcare professional, I recognised the difficulties in breaking bad news, in explaining things to patients in terms they will understand, yet not being patronising, the trouble of not being able to take your own good advice, and the difficulties when professional boundaries are blurred.

I have to be honest – when I read The Secrets of Midwives (Sally’s first novel) when it was first published, I didn’t love it.  I didn’t hate it.  It wasn’t a bad book.  It was actually a good story, and had moments of brilliant phrasing, but I didn’t love it.  I remember thinking to myself, though, this woman has something.  And you know what, she does. The Mother’s Promise is a gripping story.  She has an incredible way with words and a telling insight – this novel is such an easy read and yet so profound.  Highly recommended!

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SPOILERS – If you haven’t read the book yet, I strongly suggest you don’t read any further – go read the book first!  Then come back and read this last section and let me know if you agree.  I do have one complaint – one loose end that is bothering me. (Seriously! Stop reading right now if you haven’t read the book!!!!!) I did feel like the last few chapters wrapped to a close too quickly.   What did they tell Zoe about Dr Sanders?  He was already in her life, so they must have had to deal with it.  Did they somehow get him removed from the school and just tell Zoe he’d gone to work elsewhere? Did they tell Zoe the truth?  She would have been devastated to be told she can no longer see him, without being given very good reason not to.  But she also would have been devastated, obviously, by the truth.  I’ve never written a novel, but I assume the editing process is somewhat akin to film editing with people offering opinions on content and length.  Perhaps she wrote this in and had to cut it out?  But despite this (I don’t want to end this review on a bad note) I honestly loved this book so much – it will take up a permanent place on my shelf.