Stolen from Her Mother is a very sad, beautifully written story of love and loss and the dedication of a mothers love from the very beginning. Taking the journey with Kate as she meets and falls in love with the American, and then soon after he has left, finding out she is pregnant with his child is very sad, however, what follows is heart-wrenching. Kate is shunned by her family and sent to a home for unwed mothers, where baby Eva is taken away from Kate after her birth and 'sold' to a wealthy family in America for a sizeable donation.

We are devastated alongside Kate, and experiencing her journey pulls heavy at the heartstrings. Wesson has done an incredible job in bringing us alongside the journey. I couldn't put this beautiful story down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of this story in return for an honest review. Also, thank you to Rachel Wesson for writing such a beautiful story for us to experience.

This story is a heartwrenching novel taking place between Ireland and America during and after WWII. An unwed mother survives a cruel home run by the Catholic Church and searches for the child she loves. It paints a vivid picture of the cruel things people do in the name of Christ. Get your kleenex box ready!

Stolen from Her Mother
by Rachel Wesson
Narrated by Maeve Smyth

Stars: 4.6/5

Stolen from Her Mother was an emotional listen. I can't even imagine that the Magdalene Laundries were real. The treatment of the mothers and children is just horrifying to think about. It's terrible that Carol was judged as she was and deemed unable to adopt, but Kate, poor Kate, and Ava. I'd heard of the laundries in the past, but this book really did a good job of making them real.

Maeve Smyth did a great job bringing the characters to life and drawing the listener into the story and their world. Such a good listen! Thank you #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC!

Wow, this book is really amazing. I absolutely loved it, and it really opened my eyes to what went on in the past, in regards to mother and baby homes run by catholic nuns. It is one of the best books I have ever read.

The story is set during world war 2 and afterwards, in Ireland and America. It starts off with a woman called Carol whose dream of being a mother is taken away from her after a severe traumatic episode in her life. Later, we meet Kate, who becomes a single mother to her daughter Ava, while being forced to live in a mother and baby home, which is run by catholic nuns who are evil to the mothers and babies who live there. Carol and Kate's stories are both heartbreaking, and full of loss, but they are also full of hope, inspiration, love and heartwarming times.

The audiobook narrator was fantastic, and she did a good job with the irish, american and english accents.

I highly recommend this book, which is superb, and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an emotional read. My heart went out to the pregnant women and the way that they were treated. It is hard to believe that there was a time in history when women were treated so inhumane. My anger and disgust was stirred up toward the nuns and the treatment that they gave to the young women. My heart was stirred with love with how Kate related to her daughter Eva and the magnitude of the love that she had for her. My heart was also deeply touched with the love the family that purchased Eva had for her. I appreciated how the author was able to write the story from the various viewpoints - it kept my interest as well as it gave me greater understanding. I would for sure recommend this to others.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This one really got to me and I really liked it. I chose to listen to this book on audio and the narrator didn’t disappoint. The narrator was Maeve Smyth.
I was stunned by the Catholic Church in Ireland and the treatment of unwed mothers. It sickened me. I’m a mother and it felt so devastating what happened to these poor women. I was drawn in right away and couldn’t wait to see what was next. This takes place during WW11 and I had no idea about this tragedy.
I highly recommend listening to this and am better for it. A great written story with lots of unknowns to keep you glued to the story. And I might have cried happy bittersweet tears near the end.
Thanks Bookouture via Netgalley for this wonderful story.

Stolen from Her Mother by Rachel Wesson and Narrated by: Maeve Smyth was an excellent and a Very Emotional audiobook. that will make you cry so be aware tissues will be needed. Rachel wrote this book from her heart and it will pull you in and you will be hooked. This was one of the best audiobook's I have listened to in a long time.

I highly recommend

Big Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this book from the first sentence to the last. The story gives an insight into the strictness of the Nuns in the Convent where unmarried girls go. Their lives and those of their babies is cruel and harsh. I truly felt for the girls and was heartbroken reading about the treatment these girls and their babies were subject to. The story brings characters together in time, but i won’t spoil anyone’s enjoyment of this wonderful story, which i found to be truly heart-rending. I can thoroughly recommend this book. A great read from Rachel Wesson

Many thanks to bookouture audio and netgalley for the chance to listen to this in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good book. I can’t believe that that is what really use to happen. Such a heartbreaking but yet heartwarming in the end.

I enjoy reading historical fiction books. This one had a different focus which involved the Magdalen Laundries. I was familiar with them because of a previous book I read and it is atrocious what these unwed mothers endured from the Catholic Church. It is literally heartbreaking. I think one thing that kept me from enjoying the book as much was the narrator. I love audiobooks but have discovered how much the narrator affects my enjoyment of a book. It is obvious the author did a great deal of research. This is an emotional read that will have you invested in the lives of the characters. You need to discover on your own whether Kate finally has a happy ending. You need to buy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hatchette UK-Bookoutre for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Audiobook received for free through NetGalley

It took a little bit to get into the book but once I did it was fantastic. Loved the view into the character’s lives and was on bated breath to find out what would happen next. The narrator did amazingly as well as the author.

Similar situation were occurring to frequently.
During the War and the naivety of young girls to many got in the situation described. The husband to be, either did not return because he died or never had any intention to be married.
As you listen to the story your heart will just bleed for Kate. No support from her mother or the local clergy and instead been betrayed by them ended imprisoned by the nuns and used as slave labor with no control of her own future and the baby. The narrator did a great job bringing the feelings of the various characters to light and listening to the story was really a bit of a rollercoaster. Highly recommend this book; the story will stay with you for a long time.

I really enjoyed this book. Set mainly in mid 20th C Ireland, it addresses the historical period of Irish history when unmarried mothers were sent into institutions to give birth and often loose their babies, hence the title. It is a subject matter which I was aware of as my daughter covered this as part of her drama studies when her year group wrote a harrowing play about 'The Maggies'.
I enjoyed the link to adoption which is also presented well although I felt with not such a dose of realism. My one point of weakness, which I will try to convey without giving much away, was the chapters towards the end. Personally I didn't feel that Ava as a young adult would have reacted quite so extremely as presented here. Also the American couple kept referring to their adopted offspring as 'the children', giving us the impression that they were younger, when we had heard that the younger one had reached his 18th birthday previously. This jarred a bit as these young people were definitely adults and should have behaved more accordingly or the author could have adjusted the time frame so that they were younger. Sorry, a minor point but it jars rathe.
Otherwise a most informative and satisfying read.

Heartbreaking.
The ending indicates the story ending with such a “happy ending” but is it?
Happy for who?
So much trauma woven between the pages

‘Stolen From Her Mother’ is a heartbreaking and emotional story that portrays the hardships that befell young, unwed, pregnant women who were forced to work under horrendous conditions in the Magdalene laundries in early 20th century Ireland.

No matter the circumstance surrounding a pregnancy (out of wedlock, rape, incest, poverty), unwed women were deemed to be a disgrace to their families and were sent off to convents or homes for unwed mothers and children to be ‘looked after’ during their confinement as they atoned for their sin. Rather than receive the care and support they needed, these ‘fallen women’ were half starved, offered little to no medical care, berated, beaten, and forced to work under horrendous conditions in convent laundries until their babies were born, and one they were born, they were often taken away and ‘sold’ for adoption. Based on true events, this is such a shameful and dark part of Irish history, as well as that of the Catholic Church. These ill-fated babies were considered ‘children of shame’, guilty of being born out of wedlock, and much of their life held this stigma. Their poor mothers spent much of their life paying for their sin.

While the title of this story notes this to be a heartbreaking WWII page turner, this isn’t a war story. In fact, the war only sets a back drop for the conditions of the time. I found the story to be a bit slow to start, but it quickly drew me in as I learned of the cruel and dehumanizing punishments that befell countless young women who were imprisoned in these establishments. The characters were well developed and I quickly became engrossed in the story. Maeve Smyth did a wonderful job narrating with her Irish brogue, but I think my listening pleasure would have been enhanced if their were dual narrators, one with a more pronounced American accent.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of this extraordinary story. #netgalley #bookouture #stolenfromhermother

Another great book from Rachel Wasson. Always the master storyteller and this will not disappoint. Kate's mother wants her to be a nun, but Kate wants to escape and wants freedom to live her life how she wishes. After a whirlwind romance with an American airman, Tony, Kate finds that she is pregnant soon after Tony is forced to go home. Her family is horrified and she is shunned by her family she is sent to a home for unmarried mothers.
Kate experiences all that is shameful of the past within the Roman Catholic Church. Surviving on little food, working as little more than a slave while beaten, berated and experiencing no sympathy or compassion. And just when you think they cannot bear anything further, there is worse to come.

Once you start reading this book, you won’t want to put it down until you have finished. But don’t forget the tissues!

Stolen From Her Mother begins in Ireland in 1941. Kate has fallen in love with an American soldier and he wants to get married before he is shipped off. Unfortunately, they don't get the chance, but they do have one wonderful sexual encounter. Of course, she gets pregnant and her nightmare begins. Her parents, actually her mother, ships her off to a convent to live and work. They are called Magdalene Girls after Mary Magdalene. These young pregnant women are treated terribly. Forced to work in the laundry with little food, working all day, being berated, slapped and beaten for even speaking when they are supposed to be silent. They are not given proper medical care and once their children are born, they are taken away from them, often being sold. Kate tries to keep her daughter, but when she is almost four, she is "adopted" by a young American couple and taken to the US. The American couple are Carol and Josh. Josh and Carol have their own issues and while in Ireland on business, Josh is directed to the convent to find a child to adopt. Josh selects Eva, Kate's daughter to take home, being assured that her mother wants nothing to do with her. He even leaves letters and money for her to pay her debt to the sisters to finally be released from the Magdalene Laundry.

This was a heartbreaking story. Kate had a brother who loved her and tried to help, but things didn't work out. Her father who loved her, died of a heart attack after his wife, her mother sent her away. This is a fast paced story that was hard to put down. It begins during WW2, but ends in the late 1950s. It is a very emotional story which ends with some hope. I always like it if I read an historical fiction story and learn something. I did not know about the Magdalene Girls and found that interesting, but also so sad. Shame on Ireland and the Catholic Church for treating these unwed mothers as criminals. Even after they deliver their children they have a debt to pay for their care and end up staying and working for 3 years or more. Even the girls, some very young, who were pregnant due to rape or sexual assault by a family member are treated as sinners, something they did wrong. As heartbreaking as this story was, I am glad I read it and recommend it to those who enjoy Historical Fiction. I have enjoyed several books by Rachel Wesson and recommend her other books as well. I did a read/listen with the audiobook being narrated by Maeve Smyth. This was my first time listening to her perform and it took some getting used to. I will say that I found the pace of the audiobook rather quick. That is okay as I usually listen at 1.5 speed, but found I switched to normal speed or 1.2. Maeve also has a thick Irish accent, which was perfect for most of this book, but it took getting used to. I also found the US storyline still had an Irish lilt to it. I did enjoy the audiobook, but found I switched to reading most of it because it was more emotional to listen to the story.

The story is set between Ireland and USA during WW11. It is a heartbreaking, emotional story about unwed pregnant women home run by the Catholic Nuns. The story had me in tears, angry and joyous. The narration by Maeve Smith with her Irish accent really brought the book to life.

Thank you #NetGalley, Bookouture, #RachelWesson, #MaeveSmith and #StolenfromHerMother for the advance audiobook version for my honest review.

What a powerful historical fiction audiobook.
Based mostly in Ireland, the people were described perfectly and the way people thought shocked me. So pleased we have moved away from those ideas!

The story was quite an emotional one in many places, not just tears of sadness, but also of anger, dismay and triumph.

Now feeling I need to know more about the family and what comes next.

The narrator did a grand job too.

Audiobook Review. Narrated by Maeve Smyth.
This was a great audiobook. The narrator took a little getting used to, she sounded rather monotone to begin with, which normally puts me off. That said, she soon got into her stride and turned this into a compelling listen.
The history surrounding the Magdalene Laundries was something I knew a little about, but Wesson weaved the facts through the fictional characters really well into a tragic and heartfelt read.
Kate's story works well with Carole's, although the later story wasn't dwelt upon for long.
With books like these, I find it odd to say I 'enjoyed' it, but I did look forward to listening to the story and I would recommend it to fans of historical fiction.