Can I speak to Josephine Please? by Sheila Brill Random Things Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for "Can I Speak To Josephine Please?" by Sheila Brill, for my stop please enjoy my non spoiler review, this is a RandomThingsTour.



About the author:

Since leaving the teaching profession in 1992, Sheila has worked as a Managing Editor, a tutor for foster carers and written for and edited a magazine for families, carers and teachers of children and young people with complex needs. She is a Public Involvement Partner, working as a Co-teacher at the University of the West of England, and an interviewer for paediatric nursing candidates. Originally from Glasgow, Sheila lived in London before moving to Bristol, where she now lives with her husband and son. Since completing her memoir, she has written and broadcast flash fiction.

You can buy your copy now available in kindle, audio and paperback from Amazon UK.

Can I speak to Josephine please? by Sheila Hilary Brill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 2 days

Pages - 356

Publisher - Resilient Books

Source - Review Copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Theirs was an unlikely life together. Sheila gave birth to Josephine on 11th May 1993 and for twenty-three years they co-existed in a loving mother-daughter relationship, but one with a difference. Josephine suffered catastrophic brain injury at birth, never spoke to Sheila, rarely smiled and was barely able to see the faces of the people who loved her. Without a how-to guide, people around Josephine strove to make her life better through years of multiple medical procedures, tortuous therapies and uncomfortable equipment. But this isn't a misery memoir; it's the story of a person who touched the lives of so many people - a bright and beautiful young lady who could 'work the room'. despite her enormous limitations. She brought out the best in people. Expect to cry, expect to laugh, but don't expect to be indifferent to this story.


My Review

Buckle up guys we have a bit of an emotive road ahead of us. Meet Sheila, Josephine's mum we learn about the family - Sheila getting pregnant and being cared for by her Father in Laws colleagues, best of care. However when Sheila goes in to labour, the senior doc who was going to over see the labour and birth ends up not being there. A catalogue of mistakes, missed opportunities and downplaying leaves Sheila's new born baby with a catastrophic brain injury. We follow the family in the days/weeks/years after the wean is born. They are told to prepare for the worse (after the birth) as wee Josephine is very poorly and could die anytime.

It makes for really hard reading, Sheila is brutally honest about everything, her fears, what she seen and experienced, the difficulties facing not just being a new mum but one to a child with such profound and specialised needs. Add into that the fight for accountability and proving that everything that was done or lack of actions caused Josephine to have the difficulties she had.

It sounds very doom and gloom and don't get me wrong some of it is harrowing and heart breaking to read. However there is so much positivity to the book and the absolute specialness that Josephine had and overcame despite pretty much all the odds being against her.

It is a very raw at times read, dark, inspiring, uplifting, heroic and even gasp inducing moments. I think also if you have never had a child or loved one with additional needs, reading this book will offer a huge insight into it, how you can be mindful and actually help someone who has a loved one with these needs. I could actually hug Sheila after reading this! It seems Josephine was a very special young lady who touched the lives of those she came to know and love. Not for the faint hearted but I would absolutely recommend it to just about anyone, 4.5/5, I think this will stay with you long after you have finished the last page. I am very interesting in seeing the documentary film type they made and have contacted the author about where to view it!

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Miller Street SW22 by Jude Hayland Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for "Miller Street SW22" by author Jude Hayland, a RandomThingsTour. For my stop I have my review, enjoy.

About the author

Jude Hayland started her writing career as a commercial short story writer for women’s magazines. After over 25 years of being published widely both in the UK and internationally, she graduated with an M.A. in Creative Writing and switched to full length fiction. She has now written 3 novels and is working on her fourth.

Born in London, she now lives in Winchester although also spends a lot of time at a family house in a village in North West Crete. She is the proud mother of one adult son and, in addition to writing, blogging, tutoring and reading, is attempting to learn to speak Modern Greek.

Out to by now from Amazon tree book and ebook.


Miller Street SW22 by Jude Hayland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 3 days

Pages - 352

Publisher - Matador

Source - Review copy

Blurb from the back cover

Autumn 2005 and the residents of Miller Street in south west London are planning a centenary party for the following summer.

Among them, new arrivals to the street, neighbours in a large Edwardian house converted into flats. Cautious friendships develop. For three of them, however, what is shared about their past lives is limited. Guilt, regret and even blatant subterfuge lie too deep, veiling essential truths.

As the seasons pass and the day of the street party grows nearer, events begin to conspire and surprise so that ultimately the past is revealed as beguiling and more capricious than any of them could predict.

A story about the complexities of love and loss, MILLER STREET SW22 also shows the power of hope and the possibility of change and redemption.


My Review

This came along, for me, at the perfect time. I just wanted a wee break from reality and what is nicer than slipping into someone elses. Miller Street SW22 sees new residents move in and they are very different people. Frances Charter appears to be quite intrusive, organised and the driving force in grouping the neighbours and getting to know everything. Sam and Lydia, husband and wife dealing with Lydia's health condition and their new reality. Violet, the youngster and wildcard who actually helps us see the softer caring side of on the other characters. Finally there is Catherine who has moved after a bereavement and still coming to terms with life as it is with only her job to keep her focused.

The characters are very different, I really wasn't a fan of Frances to begin with, pushy, overbearing, controlling, nosey however as the book goes on we learn a bit more about her and her circumstances that led her to Miller Street. I understood her a bit better and whilst I didn't love her I did feel for her. Each of the characters have something from their past impacting on their future, feelings, regrets, loss and now they are trying to come to terms with it.

The story is about relationships, personal growth, love and a bunch of randoms brought together by their new home and the arranging of the centenary party. Hayland does a good job of creating very different characters yet still the reader can relate to them, once you get to know them. It is a genteel tale that allows the reader to step into the lives of others and escape your own for a wee while. This was my first time reading this author, I would read her again and will have a look out for her previous offerings, 4/5 for me this time.

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Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the Random Things Tours, blog tour, for "Meet Me at the Museum" by Anne Youngson.





We all have different content/reviews so please do check out the other stops for this wee book.




About the book:




Out to buy now, tree and ebook format, AMAZON UK

Sometimes it takes a stranger to really know who you are When Tina Hopgood writes a letter of regret to a man she has never met, she doesn’t expect a reply. When Anders Larsen, a lonely museum curator, answers it, nor does he. They’re both searching for something, they just don’t know it yet. Anders has lost his wife, along with his hopes and dreams for the future. Tina is trapped in a marriage she doesn’t remember choosing. Slowly their correspondence blossoms as they bare their souls to each other with stories of joy, anguish and discovery. But then Tina’s letters suddenly cease, and Anders is thrown into despair. Can their unexpected friendship survive?

About the author:




ANNE YOUNGSON worked for many years in senior management in the car industry before embarking on a creative career as a writer. She has supported many charities in governance roles, including Chair of the Writers in Prison Network, which provided residencies in prisons for writers. She lives in Oxfordshire and is married with two children and three grandchildren to date. MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM is her debut novel, which is due to be published around the world.

For my stop I have my review, enjoy.

When Tina sends a letter to the museum in Denmark regarding one of it's exhibits she doesn't expect a reply. When Professor Kristian Larsen replies he doesn't expect a reply, what follows is a personal journey of exploration and friendship for both. Told completely in epistolary format (letters) we are introduced to both their lives, issues they have and watch a friendship form as they deal with issues they hadn't even realised needing addressed.

This is a lovely wee debut, I don't know what I was expecting to be honest but it wasn't what it turned out to be. The letters start off really formal then less so as they open up to each other in ways they can't to those around them or even themselves. It is a tale of friendship, love, loss, acceptance and personal growth. In among that we learn about "the Tollund Man" found in a Danish bog in the 1950s, well preserved and a bit about the history surrounding the Tollund Man's lifetime. I do enjoy learning history although I don't read as much as I really would like to. I find with snippets like this I then go off and read up on them, an unexpected happy point from reading this wee story.

It is a slow burner but worth sticking with, it has many depths, both characters examining parts of themselves they have hidden or refused to look it. I think many will find this a special and touching read. I don't often do books that are written completely as letters however I did enjoy the change in format and think it was well executed. I will look out for more from this author. If you want something heart warming, personal, raw and emotional I can't think of two characters who go on a journey experience it more, together, than these two.