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Book: My Secret Sister
Author: Helen Edwards & Jenny Lee Smith
The powerful story of two sisters separated at
birth, one abused and one loved, and their search to understand their
past.Helen grew up in a pit village in Tyneside in the post-war years,
with her gran, aunties and uncles living nearby. She felt safe with
them, but they could not protect her from her neglectful mother and
violent father. Behind closed doors, she suffered years of abuse.
Sometimes she talked to an imaginary sister, the only one who understood
her pain. Jenny was adopted at six weeks and grew up in Newcastle. An
only child, she knew she was loved, and with the support of her parents
she went on to become a golfing champion, but still she felt that
something was missing. . . Neither woman knew of the other's existence
until, in her fifties, Jenny went looking for her birth family and found
her sister Helen. Together they searched for the truth about Jenny's
birth - and uncovered a legacy of secrets that overturned everything
Helen thought she knew about her family. Happily, they also discovered
that they were not just sisters, they were twins. Inspirational and
moving, this is the story of two women brave enough to confront their
past, and strong enough to let love not bitterness define them.
What I Have To Say:
The majority of this book focused on Helen and Jenny Lee's life prior to them meeting, which is fair considering that they were middle aged by the time they met. Jenny Lee's story line was pretty...boring. She had a great childhood and family life, and she recounted her journey to becoming a pro-golfer...but there was no real plot or anything to keep you coming back. Helen had a lot more going on; the abuse and neglect from her parents, her relationship with her brother and his girlfriend/fiancee/wife, constantly moving, different jobs, etc. There was a lot going on and Helen had the more dramatic and dynamic story line. It was really interesting to read about Jenny's search for her birth family and all the info she and Helen uncover.
Final Verdict:
While this was a best seller and were parts were engaging, this book felt like a lot of it was written for the sake of the story or to create coincidence between the sisters. This was the April pick for my book club and overall it was well received. There were aspects that I liked, but the story seemed forced and amateurishly written. I would suggest reading the description, and it if appeal to you to give it a read. I'm meh about this book and likely won't recommend it to anyone.
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