By: Emma Robinson
Many thanks to Bookouture for the ARC of this book and the stop on the book tour.
About the Book
‘Mollie’s missing.’ As I look at my husband, I struggle to take in his words. For years, I’ve been so focussed on our son, who needed me to care for him. I’ve sacrificed so much to make him feel safe. But have I put my own daughter’s life in danger?
When we discovered we were having twins, a boy and a girl, I couldn’t believe our luck. Within months we would have the perfect family we’d always dreamed of.
The first few years were so happy. Our house was chaotic but full of love just as it should be. But as the years passed, we had to acknowledge that our son Ben needed a lot more support than Mollie. I had no choice but to put his needs first. I wanted him to have the best life possible. But it came at a devastating cost.
Now, Mollie is missing. Clasping my husband’s hands for the first time in years, we start to piece together any reason for why she disappeared. Mollie was a straight-A student, a perfect daughter, a loyal friend. As my husband looks at me in fear, I’m forced to confront a truth I have spent years trying to hide.
They say it is impossible to choose a favourite child. But years ago, during a house fire I had to do just that. I had to push one child to safety ahead of the other. I chose my son. Now I’m forced to question whether my dear daughter has always remembered what I did. Am I the real reason she disappeared? And will I ever see her again?
My Review
Ugh, this book really is heartbreaking. Emma Robinson writes beautiful stories that are both thought provoking and heartbreaking. I partially related to this book and to Erica so I really felt it deeply. Erica has spent a lot of time caring for Ben, who has autism. I don’t have children with autism, but I do have a developmentally delayed child, who is also speech delayed and has ADHD (he’s also had some previous medical issues that have resolved). He just needs our attention more than my older son. While my older son is neurodivergent with his ADHD, he is very independent and can ask for help when he needs it. My younger son cannot. So I kind of feel like my older son is the “glass child.” We do tend to overlook him sometimes because we’ve had to focus on our younger son. This book has opened my eyes some.
I don’t want to give too much about this book away, but there is another very important aspect of this book. It has to do with navigating teenage life for young girls, but that’s all I’m going to say because I want people to read this book and be as surprised as I was that the book went this way. Based on the story lines of this book, I think that this book would be an excellent one for a book club discussion.
Emma Robinson wrote in this book, “Don’t look at his world through your eyes, look through his eyes” and I think this quote is going to stick with me for a long time. It really makes me think differently about both of my children. Thank you Emma Robinson for writing such a beautiful, honest, raw book.
About the Author
Emma Robinson is the author of several women’s fiction novels. She also blogs about the funny side of parenting and has contributed to podcasts such as Funny Women. Whilst her early novels are humorous, her recent work focuses on emotional themes and these novels are both heart-breaking and life affirming. Emma enjoys writing stories which explore the power of family and friendship in the most challenging circumstances.
Emma currently lives in Essex with a husband, two children and a small black dog.
https://motherhoodforslackers.com/
https://www.facebook.com/motherhoodforslackers/
https://www.instagram.com/emmarobinsonuk/
https://twitter.com/emmarobinsonuk
Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Emma Robinson here: https://www.bookouture.com/emma-robinson
Book Addict Book Blog 