Kerry Fisher is on my “best Authors” list as I find her writing really intriguing. This book had been on my TBR for a couple months and on reading it, I wondered what possessed me to wait for that long. It was absolutely brilliant!
‘The Mother I Could Have Been‘ is a heart wrenching story of terrible choices and second chances featuring Vikky Hall. Vikky always felt out of place in her family after her mother remarried and had two other children. She felt her mother spent most of her time caring for her siblings and didn’t love her as much as she loved her siblings. She graduates from university and never returns home despite her mother’s pleas. Instead she travels to Greece where she meets and falls for William a charming English boy who has also graduated from university and trying to figure out what next to do with his life. A few months into their relationship, Vikky discovers she is pregnant and they both return to England but to William’s family home. After their son Theo is born, William gets a job with the help of his family while Vikky works as a librarian both trying to make something out of their lives but Vikky finds William’s overbearing mother too much to manage so one day when Theo turned two, she drives out of their home and never returns. This is a thought provoking and emotionally charged story about the dynamics around mother-daughter relationships, misconceptions, toxic relationships, loss, love, second chances and redemption.
I pulled an all-nighter on this one because it was that good. Although this was a very moving and tragic story, it was so well written and relatable that I was totally consumed by it. I was able to empathize with Vikky’s character because I came to understand how the mind of a young girl would view her mother’s love for her in the way that Vikky did without weighing it against other things her mother had done for her. Still, it was difficult to comprehend her decision to leave Theo behind however, I am happy with the way things sorted themselves out in the end. My best character was Caro, and as a mother, I admired her courage to stand up for herself in the midst of manipulation and false accusations. I also loved the little joy that came with reading about Vikky’s love interest towards the end as it made up for all the sadness at the beginning of the story.
This is not the end of this story for me because it has opened up my thoughts about parent-child relationships and how either side view their interactions differently. This is definitely an inspiration for a theme on my podcast.
I highly recommend this book. It can not fully explain how great a read it. Just go out, get it, read it and thank me later.
P.s Don’t forget to keep your tissue box handy if you are a crier. I did’t shed a tear though.
Rating: 5 Stars
Published: November 22nd 2019 by Bookouture (first published November 18th 2019)
Pages: 282
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Buy: Amazon
The Author:
Kerry Fisher is the bestselling author of five novels, including The Silent Wife and The Secret Child. She was born in Peterborough, studied French and Italian at the University of Bath and spent several years living in Spain, Italy and Corsica. She is married with two children and her dog.
