The Love That Binds
The Child We Lost by Sheila Norton is a beautiful contemporary novel about love and loss, and learning to live again.
The novel is seen through the eyes of a mother, and a grandmother. The chapters alternate between the two and are in the first person. This enables the reader to intimately know the characters.
Having lost her twin (before the novel opened), five-year-old Ruby believes he is alive again as she spots a boy looking just like Josh, walking past her school every Friday. She is convinced he is alive again. We witness the trauma this creates for her extended family as they try to help her deal with her loss.
Understanding of death comes following the death of a pet. Ruby is then surprisingly accepting of death once it is explained to her.
Ruby’s mother seeks the truth as to what Ruby saw. What she uncovers comes as a shock to all.
We see the importance of having a faith. “I sometimes wish I had her faith. It must make things so much more bearable to know that there’s a God looking after us.” Loss without faith, is very bleak indeed. Having spoken to a vicar about loss, Ruby’s mother is told: “I’ll pray for you.”…”Even though I don’t believe?”… “That doesn’t matter because I do.” Prayer is comforting for all, just knowing that someone cares.
All the characters were well drawn and believable. We see how the generations within a family interact. We learn that family is not always blood-related, but it is those who love us.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Child We Lost. It was beautifully written. I will leave you with the definition of family as seen in the story:
“A family can be any size, any shape, and as complicated or as simple as it ends up being.”
I received a free copy for a blog tour from Rachel’s Random Resources. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
The Child We Lost
What would you do if your lost child came back? ❤️ An emotional family drama, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Kate Hewitt and Susan Lewis. ❤️
She pouts, looking upset, and I want nothing more than to kiss her better and say ‘All right then, yes. Perhaps he can come back, perhaps he will, perhaps he has!’ But I can’t. I know I can’t lie to her about this…
The day we lost Josh, a part of me broke. He was only three-and-a-half years old. His twin, Ruby, suddenly an only child.
We thought we were doing as well as expected. But when Ruby comes to me and says she saw Josh – alive – I assume she’s struggling more than we realised. It’s her way of holding on. Of refusing to let go.
But then I see him too.
A boy with Josh’s same pale blue eyes, the silvery-white hair that falls across his forehead in exactly the same way. It’s more than a similarity. This boy could be Josh’s twin.
How can that be possible?
I know I have to listen to my rational brain, that this must be my grief messing with my mind. But I can’t let go of the feeling that something is going on. Who is this boy? And does someone know more than they’re letting on?
A gripping, emotional page-turner about loss, love and the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child.
Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/ChildWeLost
Author Bio –
Sheila Norton lives in Chelmsford, Essex and part-time in Torquay, Devon. She is the author of over 20 novels, covering several different sub-genres of contemporary fiction, including family dramas for Boldwood Books. In 2022 she was the winner of the Romantic Novelists Association’s Christmas/Winter book award with her novel Winter at Cliff’s End Cottage.
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