About the Book:

Dublin 1966. When Joan Quinn, a factory girl from the Cranmore Estate, marries Martin Egan, it looks like her dreams have come true. But all is not as it seems.

Joan lives in the shadow of a secret – the couple’s decision to give up their first daughter for adoption only months before.

For the next three decades, Joan’s marriage and her relationship with her second child Carmel suffer as a consequence.

Then one day in 1996, a letter arrives from their eldest daughter. Emma needs her birth parents’ help; it’s a matter of life and death. And the fragile facade of Joan’s life finally begins to crack.

The Making of Her is a page-turning mother-daughter love story, spanning the 1960s to 1990s, charting one woman’s journey to escape the legacy of the society that shaped her.

Published by Penguin Random House Australia

Released 31^st May 2022

My Thoughts:

The Making of Her ticked all the boxes for me. Set in Ireland; a character driven narrative; social and cultural norms of the place and time woven tightly into the story; and a good solid ending that doesn’t necessarily wrap everything up in a neat bow, yet still leaves you feeling satisfied. This is a love story between a mother and her daughters, heart-breaking and uplifting at the same time. I absolutely adored it. Highly recommended.

Book 10 in my 22 in 2022 challenge.