The Good Mother By Sinead Moriarty

[amazon_link id=”B01M0K6Z35″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’The Good Mother’ is the latest book by Sinead Moriarty.

Having been left devastated and homeless after her husband’s affair and the break-up of their family, somehow Kate has pulled through. Though times are still tough, she’s beginning to see the start of anew life. But when twelve-year-old Jesssica is diagnosed with cancer, Kate’s resilience is put to the ultimate test. She has an eighteen-year-old son consumed with hatred of his father, a seven-year-old who is bewildered and acting up and an ex-husband who won’t face up to his responsibilities. And in the middle of it a beloved child who is trying to be brave, but is getting sicker by the day. Kate knows she must put to one side her own fear and heartbreak and do right by her children, particularly Jessica. But maybe doing the right thing means doing the unthinkable?

Sinead is back with a new book guaranteed to break your heart and have you in floods of tears for the majority of the story.

In her latest book, we meet Kate. A recently single mother who has to return to her childhood home after her husband, Nick had an affair breaking up their family. Kate and her three children, Luke, Jess and Bobby have to deal with their living situation as well as adjust to having a new baby brother. But just as Kate adapts to her new life, disaster strikes when middle child Jess is diagnosed with cancer.

Heartbroken, that wise and kind Jess is ill, Kate is determined to help get her daughter back to full health but they are faced with many setbacks along the well. As the family deal with the many hurdles of the illness, they all have their dramas in their lives. As Nick, tries to be their for his family, he is constantly pushed away and punished for his behaviour, which is understandable but all he wants to make his little girl better.

The story is seen from many perspectives of the book and this all makes for heartfelt and poignant reading, as they all deal and accept Jess’s fate.

Kate, is a wonderful mother, who wants nothing more than to provide a safe and secure home for her children. She’s kind and tries to hide grief from Jess and be brave. But as Jess gets worse and asks Kate to help her, Kate is faced with a dilemma that all parents dread.

For me, I loved Jess, even though she was only 12 years old, she was incredibly wise for her years and accepted her destiny. At times she was angry, but for the majority, she had a quiet dignity about and her calmness kept the family together, particularly her little brother, Bobby, who regularly annoyed people with his obsession with facts and constantly wanting to inform people, which at times could be tiresome.

Luke, is the oldest of the family and now the man of house since his father left them. He’s heartbroken over Jess and wants nothing more to make her better, to help deal with his misery, he throws himself into his rugby and spending time with his girlfriend Piper.

Scenes with Piper and her chaotic family make for entertaining reading in this sad tale, their drama and humorous scene were welcome distraction.

Beautifully written with cast of warm, kind and entertaining characters, this book was impossible to put down and once I started it, I was hooked right in. Sinead, has a wonderful knack of writing issues that are relatable and current and ‘The Good Mother’ deals with the issue of euthanasia. For me, Sinead has become the Irish Jodi Picoult with tackling serious issues in her books. Her books are sensitively written but there is also an injection of humour to soften the harsh blows of the tale, this book is a stunning book that will break your heart and have you laughing throughout. I loved it.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”B01M0K6Z35″ target=”_blank”] The Good Mother from Amazon [/amazon_link] and will be available to buy from good bookshops.