This was a dual time line with a mystery. When the book started you had no clue where the joanne and grace story lines go. It kept my attention and I did not expect where it ended. It is a loving story of family and unexpected bumps in the road. I was pretty invested in the story line and kept thinking about it, even after it was over.

This was an interesting book. Definitely bring awareness to breach birthing in a time when c-sections were not prevalent, Post Partum Psychosis, IVF, miscarriages, & miracle baby. This book has a dual POV. One is Grace Bennet, mother the Joann, & her experience in becoming a mother & the mental damage after that. The other is Joann finally making it to 5 months of pregnancy after 7 miscarriages. All her life she has been told her mother died giving birth to her. As she is unpacking old baby things of hers she finds her baby book that her mother wrote in. But when she finds multiple pictures in the book of her mother & her after birth she is puzzled & overwhelmed to think that she has been told a lie all her life. Now when she’s been told to rest to give her baby the best chance of surviving she is determined to find the truth. This is a great book that shows the many struggles with infertility & family secrets & found family! If you are sensitive to birthing practices (while not in great detail) I give you warning. Otherwise I recommend this book to those who need a whirlwind book with a happy ending.

This book held my attention from the very beginning with the emotionally charged, somewhat disturbing exploration of women's physical and mental health issues related to pregnancy and childbirth. The dual timelines were effectively used to show a striking difference in the way women have been treated over the years, and the way family secrets and lies can impact future generations. The narrators of the audio version did an excellent job.

The Secret of the Brighton House was a Netgalley audiobook from an unknown, to me, author. A 3 star (in my rating system) which means I read it, didn't quit, would likely never read again, should you read it? maybe, blah blah blah. Author Cathy Hayward tells an uncomfortable story in dual pov's/timelines featuring mother and daughter, pregnancy, loss, mental illness, and several other trigger warnings. And, therein lies my difficulty. I requested this book, listened to it, then questioned what I was thinking based on my own trauma. I went back to read the publishers description:

Joanne’s always been told her mother died in childbirth, but she never questioned her dad’s love. When unpacking a box of her own old
baby clothes, Joanne accidentally discovers a photo of her birth mum holding a newborn, and realises she’s been lied to.

As Joanne begins to dig into the past, she uncovers layers of secrets that threaten to destroy the very family she holds dear. What really
happened to her mum? What could be so devastating that her dad has kept it from her for her whole life—and is she ready to find out?

Read this one if you wish, but please be aware of potential triggers including miscarriages and mental illness. To the publishers - please be sensitive to reader's experiences and at least give us informed consent (especially when it does not provide a spoiler).

This story made me think it might be a murder mystery or some type of criminal cover up, and while the truth feels criminal, it wasn't the mystery I thought it would be. This is more of a story of a woman about to have a baby, wanting to know about her birth mother, as she faces the fragility of her own pregnancy and motherhood. It deals with motherhood of many kinds, and the barbarism that medicine was in the mid-70s for women. It's tragic and hopeful, and shines a light on family and what they do to protect one another.

Not an easy listen, but good one. Joanne has lived her life believing all of the things she was told about the death of her birth mother. As she is readying to give birth to her own much wanted child she discovers that everything she was told was a lie and that no one will tell her the truth. She decides to investigate on her own. This leads on her on a path that is dark and disturbing. Mental health was dealt with in such different ways years ago in the most horrible and torturous ways. It is still looked at with such a stigma to this day. The story is told in a then and now format that gives us a full understanding of who did what, when and why. A difficult and emotional well narrated story.

Joanne’s mom being in an asylum shocked me although I heard stories before that mental patients were cast aside in the early 1900’s ….loved how insisting Joanne was to get to know how her mom disappeared….