Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

True story which was gripping from start to finish. Thought provoking and stays with you long after you have finished.

This story is so utterly horrific that I could not stop reading. It is so sad and nobody should ever have to go through this ordeal.
A child born in acute poverty and a family who literally could not cope lead to being placed in the convent and this spiralled into a horrendous catalogue of abuse.


Not too much detail but just enough to understand the ordeal. This was an incredible book and a very emotional read. Very well and sensitively written

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

A gripping, bone-chilling, harrowing, heart-breaking true story of the cruel and sad abuse and treatment of a young girl named Marie. The story follows Marie as she is brought to a convent by her family, as they can no longer afford to keep her at home, and tells about the way she is treated while in the convent. Many shocking and heart-breaking revelations and stories are told in this book, and you will find yourself mad, sad, and will most likely cry as you read along.

I loved reading this story and reading about Marie's experiences and what she had to endure over the years. I literally could not put this book down once I began reading, and was on the edge of my seat the entire way through as I flipped through the pages to see what happened next. I cannot imagine what poor Marie went through and I felt so sad for her and the children in the convent. It pulled at my heart strings to read the horrific, unthinkable things that little Marie and many more children in this convent went through and how they were treated.

My words cannot do justice for how amazing this book truly is. All the stars in the world for this amazing novel!!

Set in Oldham towards the end of the 1950's little 6-year-old Marie and her brother are told they are going on a holiday. She is so excited as being one of 6 children living in poverty, with minimal food, home comforts and hand me down clothes she cannot wait. Her mother is pregnant again so it would mean poor little Marie will have another baby on her hands as her mother cannot cope with the ones she has. Marie runs the house and children and is looking forward to the break away.

A big car pulls up outside they're house and off they go, watching with excitement as they pass into the countryside, they pull onto a large gravel drive not knowing that it is a convent and beyond those doors are depravity, cruelty assault and abuse not only by the other children but also the nuns as well. Life becomes a living hell for Marie, She is taunted that she is an orphan, called "Kibby" instead of her real name and constantly told she is a child of god.

This is a heart wrenching true story that had me feeling sick and very sad at this poor ladies early life. I have true admiration for her for coming through what would have broken many of us. I wish her well in the rest of her life and the peace she deserves.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book xx

this story is heartbreaking i spent most of my time attached to a box of tissues, it is a real eye opener, what that poor girl had to endure at the hands of nuns after her father told her she was going on holiday :(

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for approving my request to read on netgalley. Its been a while since i read a memoir like this.

A harrowing account of abuse and the bravery to overcome her past.Packed with emotion and written from the heart this is a eye opener . You will feel angry for not only Marie but for the other survivors.

Sad and a reminder that these horrors happened and are still happening. Maybe in different ways but still innocent children are being abused and their childhood stolen.

This was a bit of a difficult read, still worth reading. It is a heart breaking story of how a little girl Marie, in August 1959 ends up in a Convent, I would say the Convent of horror. It is written with courage and bravery,

Marie is part of the Kibblewhite family her parents Fred and Kathleen and her siblings, in a small house and extremely poor. How a little girl had to take care of her younger siblings since her mother continued to have a new baby each year. Kathleen her mother wasn't really able to cope and this did reflect in most of Marie's story. Marie was in the middle of a severly disfunctional family where the more she did to help the more was expected of her. Still when you read her story she so wanted to be in her family even the day when she was taken away to the convent with her brother Freddie. Thinking they were going on a holiday because their father said that's where they were going that day of August 1959.

The telling and descriptions of how little Marie was treated, abused by older children in the convent and of course by one of the nuns. As the story unravels more and more it gets to a point where you don't imagine that it could get worse, it does. You couldn't even imagine and when you put it in to perspective you wonder what was wrong with the adults? In my meaning they didn't act as responsible adults! How an abused girl suffers terribly as if she was hated, unwanted and treated worse than an animal. Marie tells how she felt so lonely without a single friend in the world and as soon as she talked or asked a question she was systematically abused, battered etc. She only wanted to go home even if she knew it would be to a home where the lack of essentials and of space for a large family would be the grim reality.

During the years away from home and being in the convent were a nightmare for Marie, she hardly ever heard from her parents and she kind of accepted that and, with the eyes of a child what else could she do?
Her parents didn't protect her and they didn't do what was necessary so that their children were placed in the convent. Marie was fighting hard even for her right to her name because she wasn't a Kibbie.
In the convent it was hard work for a little girl to me it would have been more like some kind of military camp. Here it was in a convent, a place of prayer not where someone is treated as badly a Marie.

It is also the story of how Marie when she's released back to her family home some three years later, still the same hardships at home. Her mother is incapable of seeing to the needs of her children and Marie is kind of a stand-in mother to her siblings. She continues school and still with as much work to help out at home.Marie and her siblings deserved to be loved and correctly treated by their mother Kathleen!

Marie had to make a lot of sacrifices concerning her well being, so it was very sad. Marie carried on with her life working getting a family of her own, even if she hesitated because of what she had endured. The years passed and Marie met the man of her life the one that would even "go after her all the way to Africa". The book ends in a way where Marie would get some kind of justice for the horrible convent years, as she wasn't the only child that had been put through similar things as her. All the traumatic memories and wanting to be a part of a family for who she was and be loved. I do understand that back then it was almost impossible to breach such horrible experiences, somewhat taboo and also it was felt a lot like shame.

Things may have changed in recent years/decades but, I think it's important to help those children that need it and that if there are parents struggling and also with mental issues they should try and get the necessary help so they eventully could cope with difficult situations where small children are involved.

I believe that Marie also wants to help others in similar sitations to prevent other children from getting as hurt as she was. I do admire the author that she decided to share her heartbreaking story.
Thanks for letting me read this book.

Really enjoyed this book, even though it was so sad, and unbelievable! Would recommend this to anyone.

This is not a book to enjoy, it is a story full of sadness and heartache – one worth reading, but it’s not an easy read

i always feel it is wrong to say i enjoyed book with content like this that is upsetting and harrowing ( idid though!)
This is based on the true story of Marie who was 6 years old in 1959. She had 6 siblings and lived in a poor area and basic house, One day, her father takes her and her brother to a convent, She is subjected to having her name changed , her clothes removed and eventually was subject to being mentally and sexually abused under the car of the nuns in the convent.
It is not a light read but eventually she finds some closure when she tells the home is closed down and she helps the police with there investigation .

Many thanks to netgalley and Mirror Books for the opportunity to read this advance copy in exchange for an honest review. #Netgalley #MirrorBooks

This has been a harrowing and upsetting read, but an important one.
This book conveys the innocence, naivety and hope of a child so brilliantly and it was overall, a book that I recommend, if you can stomach it.

It feels odd to say whether I enjoyed this book or not, given that it's about something so shocking. (I did enjoy it for the record!)
This book was fantastically written. Marie Hargreaves writes it as a story rather than just a constant stream of information.
This book is an extremely harrowing read and is at times incredibly difficult to read. Hargreaves doesn't go into too much detail about certain things in this book but she gives enough to highlight the terrible and grim ordeal the children at the convent had to go through.
This book had me in tears and even though I knew from the description of the book what to expect, the story was still very emotional and hard hitting. I think this book will definitely need some trigger warnings at the beginning.
Overall this book was a gritty and emotional portrayal of a woman's real life experience. I enjoyed this read despite it being about such a harrowing subject.

I would like to thank Mirror Books, Netgalley and the author Marie Hargreaves, the bravest woman I've ever read for allowing me to read it early.

This is a true story.

In 1959 Marie was six years old. They lived in Oldham in a threadbare house. Marie had six siblings. One day, her dad tells Marie and her brother that they are going on holiday. He's actually taking them to a convent where her hair is bluntly chopped off, her clothes are taken away from her and her name is changed. Its not long before she's being mentally and sexually abused.

No one should have to live under these circumstances. The abuse these children suffered in the hands of the nuns is shocking and heartbreaking. Marie could ot bring herself to tell anyone what had happened to her, or even when the home closed down. Thankfully she found the courage when the police started their investigation. No child should have to suffer this.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Mirror Books and the author Marie Hargreaves for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was not an easy read but had some shining moments. The first couple of chapters seemed to be great then after that I started to lose my interest as it just seemed to slow down and not really written for me. The style wasn't for me

Marie tells the story that she will be going on holiday
But she doesn’t know that she isn’t going
That’s when her abuse is going on
It’s sad
I had an ARC

This book was well written and overall I thought it was enjoyable. However, at times I found this book was hard to get through because of the sheer monotony and audacity of the situations that Marie went through. This book is definitely not a light read, with heavy scenes of emotional, physical and sexual abuse. In the end, the author depicts her life with honesty and her final revelations were both truthful and direct.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mirror books for a copy of this arc in exchange of an honest review.

This was an emotional book to read, very harrowing but true. It is terrible to think of the abuse and hate that happened in places that were supposed to be caring . The book was one that l read in one night. I thank the author for allowing me to read it

This book was both good and heartbreaking. I did really enjoy it though.
I couldn't put it down and will look out for more of this author