Review: This Child of Mine

Synopsis

Sophie is a happy 18-year-old living in London with Anna, her Irish mother. Anna has devoted her life to Sophie. It may be just the two of them but Anna has more than enough love to give. Sophie has everything she could ever need.

Laura is a not-so-happy artist. She too has a daughter, Mandy. But Laura is haunted by the loss of her first child, Jody. Happy-go-lucky as she is, Mandy lives in Jody's shadow and wonders why her mother can never let go.

Both mothers carry secrets and cannot forget the day their paths crossed. But a chance discovery is about to bring everything into the open and mothers and daughters, love and lies, past and future, will spectacularly collide.

Review

Would you take another woman's child to save their life?

Initially my answer was straightforward. No, I wouldn't take another woman's child. However whilst reading this book, the story of Amanda Hutton who starved her child to death came to light and I was left wondering whether if I had the chance to save the child's life I would taken it. How does an author tell a such a story without condemning or passing judgement.

This Child of Mine attempts to discuss this issue by building a complex story of two mothers from different backgrounds whose lives collide with explosive consequences.  At the beginning of the book we learn that both women are pregnant however unlike Anna, an Iris school teacher who wishes for a child and see the pregnancy as her only way of having a child,  Laura, a teenager sees hers as an hindrance on her social life. When Anna miscarriages, she decided to decides to move away from her small town and start afresh. On board a ship to London she sees Laura and her child Jody who is neglected and abandoned by intoxicated mother. What ensues is a tale of love, loss and forgivness.

I sympathized with Anna the most because of her struggle to have a child whereas Laura who has a child neglects hers and see her as a burden. As the story developed my dislike for Laura grew, she is as self-centered as a teenager as well as an adult. Laura and Anna are relatable, believable and genuine as characters. Sinead Moriarty, an Irish author handles the matter with sensitivity and humor.She reminds me of Jodi Picoult except that where Picoult lacks in humor, Moriarty exceeds.  This Child of Mind is insightful without hinging or distorting the topic with its careful and thoughtful exploration of a tough subject.