I understand where the book was going and what Annie Mac was trying to say regarding being a mother but I didn’t feel like it was very well executed. It kept my attention because of the different time periods and I did enjoy following Mary through the years and watching her life change irrecoverably. The ending also made sense in a way as we watch Mary struggle through her life due to her taking the “motherly” role not only with her son but also her father and brother and such a role is an incredibly demanding one. She never takes time for herself and so in the end her own breakdown almost seems inevitable.

Despite this, I just didn’t enjoy the book as a whole. It might be a cliche to say that maybe I would understand it better if I was a mother myself but I don’t think that should be the case. We can all empathise with characters that have trials and tribulations completely different to our own lives so that I didn’t feel any real care for Mary or TJ makes me feel like the book was simply not that well written.