OMG! What a harrowing and sad story of the life of Joanne Lee and her life with her mother .

I couldn't put the book down
Recommended read but not one you necessarily enjoy

Joanne Lee grew up in a chaotic and very dysfunctional family in Merseyside. Her Mother kept four stillborn babies a secret from the wider world. When this was discovered Joanne was arrested for murder and it was only as the investigation progressed that this was dropped. However, mud sticks as they stay & Joanne has written this book to put the true story out into the public eye & quell any rumours.

I found this quite a moving book in many ways. To say that Joanne’s early life – and indeed much of her adult life – was chaotic is to put it mildly. She writes that the only “fun” she had as a child was in “dysfunctional” which summed it up very well. She lived in squalor without decent food – indeed often without food at all. She learned to care for her younger siblings from a young age and cleaned, cooked and changed nappies before she was in double figures. Yes, caring neighbours did report it to social services but they didn’t intervene until Joanne was 15 and pregnant.

I found this book flowed well and from that point of view was easy to read. Joanne told her story well and in quite a matter of fact way. The fact that she has achieved what she has achieved in her life is amazing. From that point of view this is quite uplifting.

I struggle to say I enjoyed this book – but I am very glad to have read it. The fact that Joanne and her siblings went under the radar for so long in modern Britain is a crime. I suspect they are far from the only family to be abandoned in this manner – and it certainly continues today. For me the four concealed births and deaths are only part of a much bigger picture of a family who were deserted by the authorities.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley

Wow. It's hard to believe that this is a true account of one person's life. So many of the things Joanna experienced in her life were horrible and yet she still managed to show and feel so much love, especially for her children, with the fierceness that her mother denied her.

Her writing hooked me from the very beginning and I couldn't stop reading.

*Thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Silent Sisters

by Joanne Lee

Mirror Books




Biographies & Memoirs , True Crime

Pub Date 18 Apr 2019





I am reviewing a copy of Silent Sisters through Mirror Books and Netgalley:





For over two decades Joanne Lee’s Mother kept the remains of not one but three babies hidden in a bin in her closet.



A fourth baby was buried in Newspaper and Rags in St Helen’s Cemetery.



Joanne Lee grew up in chaotic circumstances on Merseyside, she suffered at the hands of a violent boyfriend and controlling relatives as her Mother fell into a downward spiral of drinking and casual sex, after her marriage broke up. The consequences of her Mother’s lifestyle ended up being far worse than she ever had imagined.





Joanne knew about the baby buried in the makeshift grave near the family plot, but in 2009 while helping her Mother move she learned the house held an even more sinister secret.





In this book the daughter who was falsely accused of murdering her own baby sister will for the first time tell the full story of her struggle to try and understand her Mother, to piece the truth together and to give the four babies the burial they deserved!





I found Silent Sisters to be a powerful story!





Four out of five stars!





Happy Reading!

Joa lives in England she has three children of her own all who love and adore their mother who in return loves them beyond measure, the story starts when she is older and finds her mother has had another baby but she didn't live, her mother Bernie had placed the infant in a red bin in her wardrobe and seem to give the baby no more thought, until Joa's sister Cath tells her something is wrong the house smells horrid so Joa goes to see what is wrong it is when she discovers her dead sister Helen. Angry disgusted with her mother she decides Helen needs to be buried properly but without anyone finding out. She picks her mother up the next day and they go to her great grandmothers grave and bury the baby there.
We next rejoin the story when Joa is a child, Bernie didn't really care for her so at a very young age she learned to care for herself when her father can't take anymore he leaves and she truly feels as if she is on her own. Two more babies are born Catherine and Chris at a very young age of around 10 she takes complete care of the two babies the house and goes to school when she can. Her entire life is as a surrogate for her mother the life she had was horrid as well as thankless but she loved her siblings and wouldn't let them down. So much happened to her loss of her own child within a half-hour of birth which should have never happened, always in the back of her mind is little Helen and the fear she will go to jail if this is found out. Her life goes on she has two little girls when her relationship falls apart she continues on her own. The rest of this story must be read to fully understand the burdens Joa carried every day of her life and how she managed to survive everything and make a life full of love.
I received this book throughNet gallery and chose to leave a review.

I couldn't stop reading this book. It's so hard to think that a mother can be so cruel to her kids. Joanne was so strong through everything she went through. In the end she found her own kind of happiness and peace even though it took a long while. At times my eyes watered reading what this family had to go through.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Mirror Books through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was immediately captivated by the cover of this book. Being one of three sisters, the title stood out and captured me too.

Silent Sisters is a true account of the life of the author, Joanne Lee. It details her life as a young girl being raised - or rather left to raise herself - while living with an emotionally absent mother. At a young age, she is left to look after her younger siblings. Her life is a struggle. As she gets older and has daughters of her own, her life becomes fulfilling. However, she can never escape her mother and all her craziness and the effects of her upbringing lasts with her all through adulthood.

This autobiography is raw, disturbing and deals with addiction and the effects on the family. And ofcourse, the devastating crime that was hidden through all the years.

Immediately after reading this biography, I dived into research. Reading articles and seeing available pictures on the net.

Disturbingly well written.

This book is definitely not for the faint hearted. This book was intense and shocking to read. This is the type of story that you read and years from now you will be sitting around talking and this book will pop up. To read this and just imagine with these kids with through. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Joanne has a horrendous childhood. Her parents separate when she is young and they go live with her mother’s mother. Although she is very strict, Joanne has some sort of normal in her life. But soon Bernadette (Joanne’s mother) has them back in a rented house where Joanne has to grow up very quickly. She cooks, irons, and cleans - all this at just eight years old. Things go from bad to worse as Bernadette has a string of boyfriends. She gets pregnant numerous times - some of the babies lived - some didn’t. This is just a gut wrenching, harrowing story. I felt my heart break for Joanne the little girl and proud of the woman she has become.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I downloaded this title in epub form but was unable to open it. Unfortunately when I returned to my shelf in netgalley a few days later it had been archived and I was unable to download it again. I was really looking forward to reading this one.

A very emotional book about a dysfunctional family and how to survive to live a happy life with your own family not my normal type of book but i did enjoy reading it 5*

In 20years Joanne lee mother hidden away in a bin was a newborn
In her wardrobe there was another 3
She had buried a 4th one in a newspaper
Joanne grew up a with a violent boyfriend and she learns that her mother had a great past
I received an ARC

Wow!!!
I live not far from St Helen's and I can not believe I never heard about this gruesome story.
What a life Joanne Lee had. Thank you for sharing your story.

I volunteered to give an honest review in exchange for a free copy of the book pre-publication. This is a shocking true story about a child that received no affection or love from her mother. She received affection and love from her father, but unfortunately her parents divorced when she was little. Her father moved away, and she was left under the care of her mother. Her mother couldn't be bothered to clean, cook, or to see her daughter off to school. She was born in the early 1970s. Her story is told first person, and it's filled with unfortunate events. The story follows her throughout her life to the present. I am definitely going to lookout to see if she writes any more books.

This book is well written. I wish they didn't have to go through that. I recommend this book. I would really like to read more by this author.

Joanne, Cath and Chris have four half sister. Sister's they never got to know.
The longest conversation Joanne ever had with her mother was about where to bury the purifying remains of who was her sister. Through the years three more bodies of full term babies would be found. Moldering remains next to her bed or in a closet where most mothers kept books or knitting.
As far as a good mother, Bernie was never one. Her house was a hordes delight. Stacks of unwashed dishes, piles of dirty laundry. There was always money for lager, but not for food, water, heating or electricity. Joanne was an adult before she ever started school. She cared for her younger siblings, Cath and Chris.
This is a heartwrenching story of love, courage, strength. The struggle of being an adult child, caring for a mother who doesn't care of her children. Remarkably its especially about being strong, knowing the importance of family and children. A story of breaking the circle of disdain, abuse and heartlessness.
Excellent!

A harrowing account by Joanne Lee of growing up in Merseyside with a bizarre mother. harrowing, shocking and difficult to read. Make up your own mind if you are prepared for the contents. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC. Reviews on Goodreadds and Facebook.

Wow, this book is shocking. I had heard about this case in the media and read about it but the book goes in to a lot more detail.
It's hard not to have strong opinions reading this book and I believe she got away with murder, several times.
I expect to see this book in the top charts once it's out as it's a unbelievable, emotional read that I have never read anything like before.
I wish Joanne and her family the best of luck in the future.
5*

Joanne Lee bravely pens the harrowing true story about growing up with a woman capable of hiding dead babies in a garbage bags. If the brutality of that statement startles you, then this non-fiction novel will haunt you as the real tragedy has haunted Joanne Lee for all these years.

If you have heard the name Berndatte Quirk, odds are you are familiar with this story. Bernadette hid four babies in red bin at her home. She claims each one was stillborn, but regardless, hiding their births and keeping their corpses stuffed away like trash is a monstrous act.

I found Lee's story a heart-breaking and tragic tale of motherly deceit and betrayal. Clearly, Lee has lived both an extraordinary and daunting life. I can't imagine growing up in those circumstances and I commend her for her bravery in telling the world the truth about her trauma and the trials of living with a woman like Berndatte.

As far as the actual novel goes, it was a pretty quick and engaging read. I did find some segments and stylistic language choice got to be repetitive at times but the material is fascinating, albeit often grotesque. Joanne Lee does not shy away from the gruesome details, but as this is her own experience she is trying to convey, it's not for me to say if they were necessary or not. It certainly does paint a vivid picture and I feel like she was being true to the horrors she faced in her life.

Not quite as harrowing as you might expect, a true story of the tragic life of Joanne Lee. It was a heartbreaking story of a dysfunctional family where the mother had not quite grown up and clearly had mental health problems. She couldn't or wouldn't look after her children, the house was filthy they didn't have proper food and Joanne was doing her best to hold it all together, even after she had to perform the most ghastly task of burying her mothers dead baby. It is quite unimaginable how she coped and then recalled it all to write the book which in my opinion was a very brave thing to do.