The Ties That Bind
The Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe is a historical tale of love and loss, heartache and disappointment, bravery and courage. Set just after World War II and spanning nearly twenty years and two continents The Throwaway Children is a marvellous read. It made me smile, it made me cry and it made me angry.
The book is not called The Throwaway Children for nothing. It is a tale of unwanted children. Children who are thrown away because they are inconvenient. There were many orphans following the second world war and there were children who were believed to be orphans. Homes for unwanted children were set up. Some were run by people who believed they were improving the lot of the poor by removing their children but children will thrive where there is love and not if there isn’t. “She had done God’s work. Remorse and guilt never came to mind.” Do-gooders never saw the bigger picture, they were singularly focused in their aims, believing if they allied themselves with God, they were doing His work.