The eyes of the child on this book cover had my attention and made sure I had to know more, then reading the blurb I wanted to listen/read to this woman's side of the story of what had happened "behind closed doors" to her and her family.
Title: Silent Sisters
Author: Joanne Lee with Ann & Joe Cusack
Genre: Biographies, Memoirs, True Crime
Publisher: Mirror Books
Release Date: 18th April 2019
BLURB from Goodreads
A deadly secret.
A horrifying discovery.
For over 20 years, Joanne Lee's mother kept the remains of not one, but three newborn babies hidden in a bin in her wardrobe.
She had buried a fourth baby in newspaper and rags in St Helens Cemetery.
For the first time since exposing her mother's crimes, Joanne breaks her silence over her family's horrific ordeal and her fight for justice for the siblings she never knew.
Growing up in chaotic circumstances on Merseyside, Joanne suffered at the hands of a violent boyfriend and controlling relatives, as her mother lapsed into a downward spiral of drinking and casual sex following the break-up of her marriage. But the consequences of her mother's messy lifestyle turned out to be far worse than Joanne could ever have imagined.
She already knew about the baby buried in a shallow makeshift grave next to the family plot. But when Joanne came across a red plastic bin in her mother's wardrobe in 2009, she realised that the family home held an even more sinister secret.
In Silent Sisters, the daughter who was falsely accused of murdering her own baby sister will tell her full story for the first time, detailing her struggle to understand her mother, to piece together the truth and to give the four babies the proper burial they deserve.
A horrifying discovery.
For over 20 years, Joanne Lee's mother kept the remains of not one, but three newborn babies hidden in a bin in her wardrobe.
She had buried a fourth baby in newspaper and rags in St Helens Cemetery.
For the first time since exposing her mother's crimes, Joanne breaks her silence over her family's horrific ordeal and her fight for justice for the siblings she never knew.
Growing up in chaotic circumstances on Merseyside, Joanne suffered at the hands of a violent boyfriend and controlling relatives, as her mother lapsed into a downward spiral of drinking and casual sex following the break-up of her marriage. But the consequences of her mother's messy lifestyle turned out to be far worse than Joanne could ever have imagined.
She already knew about the baby buried in a shallow makeshift grave next to the family plot. But when Joanne came across a red plastic bin in her mother's wardrobe in 2009, she realised that the family home held an even more sinister secret.
In Silent Sisters, the daughter who was falsely accused of murdering her own baby sister will tell her full story for the first time, detailing her struggle to understand her mother, to piece together the truth and to give the four babies the proper burial they deserve.
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon US (not available at time of doing post)
Amazon UK
REVIEW
REVIEW
As
soon as I saw the cover of this book, I felt drawn to it. The tattered,
battered looking door that the child is cautiously looking outwards. It is very
striking the small blonde haired, blue eyed image of innocence. Seriously the
eyes of the child on the front cover seemed to grab my attention and I just
couldn’t flick by it. I then read the byline of “A Daughters Horrifying
Discovery. . . . A Mothers Secret Shame” and was curious as to what a mother
could feel shame about when her daughter found out. What on earth horrified the
daughter.
Then
reading the blurb I felt I had to, wanted to listen/read this woman's side of
the story of what had happened "behind closed doors" to her and her
family. The genre’s listed for this book are Biographies, Memoir and True Crime
which I do agree with. Yet after finishing reading the book and finding out
what happens to the “mother” in the book can it really be categorised as crime?
This
book is an account of Joanne Lee’s life with her mother Bernadette.
Bernadette
definitely doesn’t come across as mother of the year in the book, in fact far
from it. It makes you wonder why this woman kept continually allowing herself
to get pregnant over and over again. There would have been plenty of
contraceptive options around for her. Or was it purely a case of what seems to
be her favourite saying within the book, “Can’t be arsed”.
Everything
seems okay at the beginning of this book, Joanne lives in a house with her
mother Bernadette and her father Michael. Things weren’t great between her
parents but the first time Joanne seems to really notice is when aged six, she
receives separate presents from her parents and ends up receiving exactly the
same gift from them both.
The
first big change is when her mum announces they are going to visit Nanny Pat.
Nanny Pat is a very stern, strict woman, who has everything in its place and a
lace for everything. Everything also had to appear prim and proper. It’s at the
visit that Joanne senses something “big” is about to happen or be revealed as
she is actually allowed to go sit on the couch in Nanny Pat’s pristine front
room, normally reserved for the Priest when he comes calling. It’s while she is
sat literally on the edge of her seat that her mother Bernadette, states that
she and her dad, Michael are getting divorced. Sadly, the most dreaded
difference Joanne anticipates is living with Nanny Pat. Whilst living at Nanny
Pat’s Joanne is ironically the best cared for throughout the whole of her
childhood. Poor Joanne is bitten by Nanny Pat’s beloved dog and really needs hospital
care, which as Nanny Pat and Bernadette work there you would think they would
just dash there with her, but no. Going to the hospital would mean explaining
what had happened people would be wanting to know How? Why? Where? Everything had
happened. Nanny Pat wanted to retain her pristine image and the neighbours
finding out Joanne had been bitten by the family dog would wreck that. So,
Bernadette holds Joanne down whilst Nanny Pat stitches the wound!
Bernadette
soon has a new house and bloke, Karl, to go with it. Things are quite good for Joanne
as Karl buys groceries once a week and helps keep things tidy. But the small glimpses
of a better family life never ever last and Joanne knows this in her heart. Joanne
is left to fend for herself from a very young age, her mum has multiple
boyfriends. She had to learn how to cook herself a meal, wash and iron her
clothes as well as care for her younger siblings, Cath & Chris. Bernadette
would rather drink, in fact when she wasn’t at work, she was sat at home
drinking.
Joanne
meets her own boyfriend Mark and becomes pregnant at a young age just like her
mother did. Sadly, a happy little family is not to be for Joanne when her son
dies. It soon becomes apparent that whilst leaving her mother behind and
getting a home of her own, she has also saddled herself with a male version of
her mother in Mark.
I
could go on and on and into much more detail about this book, but I feel I
would “spoil” the reading experience so will not say much more about the plot. The
book goes on to tell about how a baby is found in Bernadette’s wardrobe,
contained in a red bin.
After
losing a child of her own, and holding that baby in her arms, Joanne takes it
upon herself to bury this baby from the red bin at the family grave at the
local cemetery. Which she calmly does in broad daylight and then Bernadette
just never ever mentions it again. Only Joanne thinks of when/what the babies,
milestones would be. Joanne can never forget what she has done and lives in
fear of being found out, put in prison and having to leave her own children
motherless. Despite being let down time and time again Joanne gives both her
mother and her own partner Mark chance after chance It is Joanne’s younger
sister whom Joanne has been like a mother to that tells Joanne of the
appearance of the “red bucket” again. This time Joanne has had enough and she
cannot stay quiet or risk attempting to bury the contents of the red bin.
Joanne confides in childhood friend Julie and then Julie’s mum. It was Julie’s
mum that would make sure Joanne had something to eat for breakfast and clothes
to wear for school, so she trusts them both.
There
were many times in the book when I was thinking “oh, no Joanne” “not again
Joanne” “how can you still help her”. You feel a whole range of emotions, anger
at how Joanne is, treat by her mother Bernadette, her Nanny Pat, Mark and then finally
Tom. The only light this child had in her life was her father’s parents, Nanny
Edith & Grandad John, who were both deaf and communicated with Joanne via
sign language. It is later in life when Joanne has a child who is deaf, some
would say “something else for Joanne to cope with”. Joanne doesn’t see it that
way, she sees her son as a special gift from her Nanny Edith.
Some
readers may remember the newspaper coverage and the TV coverage of this case. I
sort of vaguely remembered some of the stories I had read as I worked my way
through this book. The book is thought provoking and pulls you through a huge
range of emotions.
My
final thoughts and words about the book and Joanne are they are both amazing,
and yes as the byline says the story Joanne tells is horrifying and yet equally
heart-breaking & heart-warming too.
