First book of this author but a fantastic read! Callie is a single mum who has coped on her own but when an accident forces her back to her family and a long lost friend it's easy to work out what will happen but it was so well written. Definitely pulled at the heartstrings. Very well written book

A brilliant book
Couldn’t put it down
Had me hooked from page one
And you will need tissues
Thanks NetGalley

A captivating family drama filled with emotions and long held secrets! I was entranced from page one until the last page. How far are you willing to go to do what you think is the right thing for your child?

Heart warming and heart breaking in equal measure. A really tender and heartfelt read that I will definitely be recommending

This author reminds me of Diane Chamberlain who is one of my favourite authors. This was an emotional read and I will never forget it.

This is the story of Callie. In 2002 she is living with her mum and stepfather and first meets Reuben, a boy who lives across the road. Events lead her to run away from home and fall out with her family. When she discovers she is pregnant she decides to bring Billy up alone. In 2014 she has an accident, is taken to hospital and Billy is taken to stay with her mother, much to Callie’s horror as he suffers from anxiety. Callie has never revealed who Billy’s father is but when Reuben turns up Billy finds out that he is his Dad. Callie, Billy, Reuben and all the family are reunited but then events happen that change everything. This was another emotional read from Ali Mercer and will tug at your heartstrings. A highly recommended read. Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Such a gorgeous beautifully written family drama, featuring characters you can visualise. A fabulous emotive book you must read!!!!

This was quite an emotional read, tugged at the heartstrings all the way through. Enjoyed it . My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A single mum by choice, happy she shares so much with her son. Until one day she has an accident she needs to be hospital, who will pick her son up, who will care for him, who will understand his needs? By chance she meets his father again and tells him of his son.. A good move seeing what@s going to happen next
.Emotional, upsetting your thoughts move through all the traumas in this well written gripping book

Another emotional story , as always from this author. Family drama at its absolute best.
Well done Ali, you've done it again !
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

A really great read from Ali. I will definitely read more of her books. A lovely story of a family who are estranged due to misunderstandings. Callie has to bring up Billy as a single mother and has to endure a lot along the way. She is a brilliant mam. When Billy is 10 a lot of changes happens in their lives.

Someone pass me the Box of Tissues.......I so need the Whole box
If you want a book or audiobook that will have you hooked from the beginning till the end and will have you fighting back the tears -
A Child's Goodbye by Ali Mercer and Narrated by Stephanie Lane is a book for you. Ali always writes from her heart and all her books I have read have been beautifully written and a 5 star read or audiobook. This was a book that just took my breath away......Just amazing!!!!
Ali's latest book is a powerful heartbreaking family domestic drama filled that is about motherhood, grief that has pulled her a family apart by so many secrets. But Sadly secrets have a way of coming out in the end.

All Callie remembers is the screeching of brakes and the sound of tyres swerving on tarmac. The last thing that crossed her mind was her beautiful boy Billy, who is waiting alone at the school gates for her to pick him up after school….........

Who's going to pick up Billy whist Callie is in Hospital?

When Callie found out she was pregnant she couldn’t have been happier. Ever since her own father died, She felt utterly lost. But this little bundle of joy changed everything for her future. Finally, she had found her purpose: to be the best mother she could be.

Sadly, Callie couldn’t and wouldn’t tell anyone who Billie's father was. This was a secret that could never be spoken but this secret will come out and tear people apart around her.

WoW this book was Soooooo Good.

The narrator Stephanie Lane was superb.

I would recommend this book it will not disappoint!.

Big thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for my copies of “A Child's Goodbye” I loved it.

Oh my goodness, author Ali Mercer certainly gives her readers an emotional read doesn't she. Her stories are very heartwarming too.
We meet Callie and her son Billy in this story.
As a single parent it must be so worrying raising your child as best you can with the thought always lodged in your mind " What will happen if I am not here".
The story starting with Callie involved in an accident and her friend Lauren taking Billy to look after him or so she thinks.
Lauren calls on Billy's grandmother to look after him and we get a glimpse that all is not well between Callie and her parents.
I wondered what type of friend Lauren was to Callie. To do something that she knew Callie would not approve of, all because she was too busy when her friend needed her the most.
I loved the relationship between Callie & her son Billy. Her understanding of his sensitivities and anxieties. He sees that it might be nice to have his grandmother in his life but knows that his mum might have her reasons for not doing so.
A caring and very thoughtful boy, hoping and waiting for his mum to get better.
A heartbreaking story so filled with emotion, regret and family drama.
Everything you want in a great book, I loved it.

A Child's Goodbye is emotional and heart wrenching. Keep the tissues at the ready!
The author delves into questions we are afraid to ask ourselves, who will take care of our child if we are unable to?
A shy child lives with his single mother, he doesn't have many friends, is teased at school but is starting to show some independence from his mother. Depending on his mother to pick him up at the school gates 5 days a week when she doesn't one day his stress is evident as he waits in the school office for word on what to do. Receiving word his mother has been in an accident on her way to pick him up causes a change not only in his life but his mother's as well.
His mother is hiding a secret, she won't say who her son's father is and it has caused her to be estranged from her own mother.
Being in the hospital has given her plenty of time to think back on the past and about her son. She loves him desperately and only wants the best for him.
She comes to the realization that visiting the past and setting things straight will cause her to progress in the future.
Well-developed characters that blossom and grow as the story progresses.

Pub Date 28 Mar 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Really enjoyed this book, the characters were so relatble and loved how it switched between characters so you got to know everyones side. Heartbreaking yet heartwarming book.

a single mother gets into a car wreck and can't take care of her son, she has never told the father about the boy. some heart wrenching scenes, but a good read.

A Child's Goodbye focuses on Callie who is a single mother of 10-year old Billy; she is estranged from her family and Billy's dad. She decided it was best to keep things hidden and for her to devote everything to bringing Billy up. Turns out she was wrong. An accident causes her to be hospitalised where she worries about Billy and how he will cope with his anxiety. A heartbreaking tale filled with family drama that you'll need tissues for.

Callie kept a secret for years. She never told anybody who the father of her son Billy was. Callie loved Billy to distraction, and when she is injured in a car accident, her life - their lives - will never be the same again. Callie not sharing who fathered Billy caused a lot of conflict between her and her mother. In fact, they grew apart because of her secret.

Because of her injury and hospitalization as well as recovery, Callie’s mother did step in. This was a real joy to Billy, because he always wanted to know his grandmother. But there is another important person in this very touching story. That person is Billy’s father. This is where we meet Reuben. He is currently home to care for his ailing father and a connection starts to be recognized between him and Callie from years previously.

As I listened to this as an audiobook, I was completely pulled into the story, especially as this strong, emotional drama between four people whose lives were intertwined, but would also be changed forever. The title alone definitely tells the reader that there would be a tragedy involved. How intense, how harsh, how sad that tragedy would end up being is almost made clear, but the story is so warm, so touching, that it was impossible to put down. Ali Mercer has written, yet another effective story that pulls you into the drama involved. Stephanie Lane did an excellent job in her narration, especially when it came to the emotion of all of the characters involved.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

All I remember is the screeching of brakes and the sound of tyres swerving on tarmac. The last thing that crossed my mind was my beautiful boy Billy, waiting alone at the school gates…

WHO WILL KEEP HIM SAFE WITHOUT YOU?

Fans of Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult and Kate Hewitt will be swept away by this heartbreaking, totally gripping page-turner about motherhood, grief and a family torn apart by secrets.

I truly loved this book. The more I read, the more gripped I became, and the harder it was to stop reading (to sleep, to work, to eat). I was completely captivated and was eager to see what would happen next. Billy quickly held a special place in my heart and I felt so many different emotions while reading about him and his life. This book is about family and relationships, but written in a way that it felt as if you truly know the characters. It was easy to feel emotional and attached to not only the characters, but the story itself. The story was not as predictable as I thought it would be and I commend the author for NOT following the obvious path you would have expected. I can’t relate to what it must be like to be a single mother, and I admit I couldn’t help but think that I would not make some of the same decisions Callie did, but I DO know the feeling of fierce love and devotion a mother has for her children, and I can’t imagine the pain and fear a mother must feel thinking about her child being scared, or confused, or being left by their mom. My heart ached for both Callie and Billy. This was such a wonderful book, one that will stay with me for a long time.

#achildsgoodbye #bookouture #netgalley #bookreview #blogtour

Wow. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions! This was a heartwarming test gut wrenching read. I loved (or loved to hate) every character in this story.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book