Reviewed by Emma Crowley
‘I love you, and you are my daughter, no matter what anyone says. Nobody can take you from me.’
In beautiful Rathmoney House nestled by the wild Irish Sea, Margo sits in her black suit, three strings of pearls at her neck, nodding at those offering their condolences. She never thought she would be here without her beloved husband. All she has left is their beautiful daughter Elsa and a house full of memories. Then, she receives a letter that turns everything she thought she knew on its head...
When Margo learns that her daughter was accidentally switched at birth with an American child and Elsa is not in fact her biological daughter, her world shatters. American Cassie and her daughter Tilly are equally shocked to learn about this tragic mistake, and both parents are terrified about the prospect of their daughters being taken away.
Margo and Cassie know that together they must protect their daughters, both biological and not. Cassie and Tilly fly to Ireland, and with the help of the local community they must learn to support each other through the most difficult times.
Will they be able to find a new version of family, or will the shocking revelation force them apart forever?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of My Only Daughter to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Ann O’Loughlin’s new book, My Only Daughter, presents the reader with a conundrum right within the first few chapters that has you constantly questioning - what would you do? - as you read through the story. Told from the perspective of two women - Margo and Cassie - this story is a heart-breaking read which shows how one incident can have a rippling and long-lasting affect that perhaps can never be remedied. The story is divided into three distinct sections and the chapters alternate between the two women providing the reader with a broad and well balanced viewpoint in order for them to make up their own mind as to what they might do if they were faced with the same decisions and choices. Not that any decision made will be an easy one and the manner in which the women cope with the fallout was fascinating to read as it not only affected them but so many other people too.
Margo lives in Rathmoney House in County Wicklow with her 12-year-old daughter Elsa. She is experiencing such pain, loneliness and loss as her husband Conor has just recently been buried following a battle with cancer. With Conor gone her hopes, dreams and aspirations for their continued life in Wicklow have gone with him or so it seems to Margo. Life for Margo and Elsa has changed drastically, and she doesn’t know how she can continue on. I thought this quote summed up perfectly how Margo was feeling about Conor’s death and the words used are fitting for us all when we experience loss. ‘Death was peculiar, she thought.It visited with such drama but exited quietly leaving nothing behind, only garlands of loss’. These garlands are ensnaring Margo and she would rather just curl up and let the world pass her by but she has a daughter to look after and with the help of her neighbours, husband and wife, Jack and Ida perhaps she can fulfil Conor’s wish of turning Rathmoney House into an upmarket B n’ B.
Ida was a fantastic character. Perhaps the best in the book even though I know Margo and Cassie and their daughters take centre stage and for very good reason. Yet, there was just something about Ida that I was completely drawn too. She was bossy and forthright, but she needed to be. She was like a busy bee always on the move helping and supporting in any way be it in some small action or some powerful words that needed to be said. She was a prop for Margo and became almost a mother to her. Someone Margo could confide in but also when a few home truths were needed Ida had no qualms about getting things off her chest. She said things as they were and was never afraid to shy away from the realities of the situation that developed. Underneath, her exterior she had a heart of gold and one angle of the story that developed concerning her well I really wasn’t happy with it at all and it felt contrived and that it happened so randomly and in my mind it took away from the main theme/plot of the story. But Ida is strong and resolute and she passes these qualities to Margo and the book wouldn’t have been the same without her and I just wanted more and more from her.
Cassie lives in Ohio with her 12-year-old daughter Tilly. When we first encounter her she is filled with rage as her husband Charles is seeking a divorce after he upped and left her. Charles is claiming that Tilly isn’t his and that he will not pay child support. I loved Cassie when she got her revenge on Charles when she went to his place of work. It really put the term a woman scorned into action and it brought a smile to my eye that Cassie was a fighter and would defend her daughter no matter what. Boy, would she need this characteristic the more the story developed especially when a DNA test is done and in fact Charles is correct and Tilly is not his. In fact Tilly is not Cassie’s biological child either.
So sets in motion the main plot of the book as it’s soon discovered that a mistake occurred in the French hospital where Tilly and Elsa were born and Margo and Cassie ended up bringing home the wrong babies all those years ago. This is just a horrific situation to find oneself in and numerous questions and worries go through both women’s minds. ’What about love? What about all the years, our history, our future?’ The reader doesn’t want to place themselves in the same situation even if this is only fiction as the whole thing is just so difficult and painful to comprehend and even more so when Cassie discovers her precious daughter needs urgent surgery to ensure she continues with a good and happy life? Needless to say, a very difficult situation presents itself and it was interesting to see how thigs would unfold once Cassie and Tilly reached Rathmoney House.
I will say, initially, I would have thought that there would have been more of a struggle per say as to whether Cassie and Margo would want their biological daughters back with them. Well, that was my gut reaction, of course they should do the right thing but then as the chapters pass by and you see the dynamics develop and the thought process’ of both Margo and Cassie you come to see that things are not clear cut at all. As Margo says they were ‘good people caught up in a series of events’. Even more events and twists and turns start to make themselves known. One I had growing suspicions about but really I didn’t think things would unfold the way they did and given the whole situation had no clear answer the ending and the final few chapters were fitting and well thought out and on reflection it couldn’t have turned out any other way. There are so many life changing events that occur for each of the characters and numerous twists and turns, some that in my mind that were far fetched yet others fitted perfectly well with the friendships and family connections that were developing.
Where do your loyalties lie? That’s one big question that arises time and time again the more you become engrossed in Margo and Cassie’s story and to be honest I still don’t know the answer and am thankful I was not the one faced with the decisions they had to make. My Only Daughter was an interesting and gripping read, in fact I read it in only two sittings as I found myself flying through the chapters wanting to know how things would pan out. It is a heart-breaking journey to friendship which shows women supporting each other in the most difficult of times. Without doubt, it’s an emotional read that reminds me slightly of the early Jodi Picoult books where there is an enigma at it’s centre that gets everyone talking.
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