"THE SECRET DAUGHTER will stay with you long after you close the book."
Reviewed by Sandra Wurman
Posted August 1, 2015
Women's Fiction | Women's Fiction Contemporary
Every once in a while you find a book that actually makes
you gasp. THE SECRET DAUGHTER takes place in Australia,
so at first there are little blips with language.
It's hard not to notice an unusual new word or
phrase but that takes second place to an amazing story. THE SECRET DAUGHTER
is frank
and direct in its handling of an awful topic. What makes
it even worse is knowing it is based on facts.
Several years ago, there was legal action against the
Australian government for its failure to put a stop to
the barbaric practice of forced adoptions. Kelly Rimmer
makes it very personal. THE SECRET DAUGHTER is told from
the perspective of the very people affected by a forced
adoption and Rimmer doesn't mince words or soften
the blow. She took something straight out of history
and made sure that the reader gets it. There are many victims in the case of forced adoptions.
THE SECRET DAUGHTER is told by the triangle of
women caught up in this monstrous activity -- the unwed
pregnant teenager, the now adult child born at the
maternity home, and the woman who was a social worker at
the home. Ah, you are thinking -- so simple. Not at all.
Nothing is as it appears and the story continues to
unfold page after tragic page. It was all out of their
control. Lily, the teenager, had all her rights stripped
away by the very people who were supposed to love and
protect her. Sabina is coming to realize that her reality
is totally off kilter. And Megan continues to be haunted
by her role. Kelly Rimmer does an amazing job of setting the stage for
what will become a fascinating series of scenes in a play
right before our eyes. Her imagery is spot on and highly
effective. You can't come away from THE SECRET DAUGHTER
without feeling as though you had just been a witness to
a tragic wrong done to so many innocents. Rimmer delves
deeply into the social morays of a time that allowed
something like this to happen. The institution stood by
its mantra that this was done in the best interest of the
unwed mother and the child. But as you read THE SECRET
DAUGHTER some very disturbing information comes to light
and you realize how barbaric this practice really was. There have been other situations where governments and
religions have taken over the rights of pregnant woman.
Tragic procedures done in the name of whatever force is
in control at the time. THE SECRET DAUGHTER will stay
with you long after you close the book. It is that
powerful and well written by a formidable author. Suffice
it to say I can't wait to see what Kelly Rimmer will
write next.
SUMMARY
As I saw my new-born baby’s face for the first time I tried
desperately to capture her face in my mind—to stamp it onto my
eyelids. As she was taken from me I knew I might never see my
daughter again. 37 years later… ‘You were adopted’. Three short words and Sabina’s life
fractures. There would forever be a Before those words, and an
After. Pregnant with her own child, Sabina can’t understand how a
mother could abandon her daughter, or why her parents have
kept the past a secret. Determined to find the woman who gave her away, what she
discovers will change everything, not just for Sabina, but for
the women who have loved her all these years. From the bestselling author of ME WITHOUT YOU comes another
touching, beautifully told story about the pain of separation
and the enduring strength of love.
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