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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Unbroken: One Woman's Journey to Rebuild a Life Shattered by Violence. A True Story of Survival and Hope by Madeleine Black

Unbroken: One Woman's Journey to Rebuild a Life Shattered by Violence. A True Story of Survival and Hope by Madeleine Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - read in one sitting

Pages - 288

Publisher - John Blake

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

"For many years after that night, my memories of what happened after he held the blade to my throat and threatened my life were fragmented . . . difficult to piece together. It was too extreme, too violent for me to understand."

Living in a state of shock and self-loathing, it took her years of struggle to confront the buried memories of that first attack and begin to undo the damage it wrought, as men continued to take advantage of her fragility in the worst possible way. Yet, after growing up with a burden no teenager should ever have to shoulder, she found the heart to carry out the best revenge plan of all: leading a fulfilling and happy life. But the road to piecing her life back together was long and painful. For Madeleine, forgiveness was the key. True forgiveness takes genuine effort. It takes a real desire to understand those who have done us so much harm. It is the ultimate act of courage. In Unbroken, Madeleine tells her deeply moving and empowering story, as she discovers that life is about how a person chooses to recover from adversity.


My Review

Madeleine was brutally raped at a very young age, changing her life and everything she knew or felt about herself. Madeleine went on to be attacked again and again, and struggled behind a wall of silence and self loathing. As Madeleine got older she followed many paths that eventually led her to a path of self discover, personal growth, understanding, love and amazingly of all - forgiveness.

I need to warn all readers that this is a brutally honest book and accounts of horrendous sexual and violent abuse are discussed in graphic detail. It makes for hard and very emotive reading, I think any reader will be move to tears, anger and rage for the innocent child that was failed by so many.

The book follows Madeleine on a journey of a downward spiral into some very dark episodes to eventually turning it around and dealing with the traumas, abuse and uses it to help others. It takes a very brave person to survive what she did, to then use it to help others is truly an inspiring and amazing act. I think this book will speak to so many individuals and maybe bring comfort to other survivors, knowing they are not alone. There is a spiritual aspect of the book that I am going to further look into, I found it really interesting and want to know more about it. I think anything that helps to bring inner peace/coping mechanisms will be beneficial to many readers, if they are interested in it and how it can positively impact your life. Despite being harrowing in places the book is also very uplifting when you see the whole journey. I picked this up to read one chapter before bed, I stayed up to 5am until I finished it, 5/5 for me this time. I would love to hug the author, for what she survived, for putting herself out there and for offering hope and a voice to so many, a brave and inspiring human, thank you!

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Afraid by Mandasue Heller

Afraid by Mandasue Heller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Pages - 344

Blurb from Goodreads

Mandasue Heller's thrilling novel is set on the gritty streets of Manchester.
When fifteen-year-old Skye's mother finally does something so shocking that it can't be hushed up, the police turn her over to the social workers - and that's when the nightmare begins.
She doesn't know if her father is alive or dead; the woman who is supposed to be helping her dumps her in a terrifying 'home' that's more like a jail. But she still has one friend to turn to: the sympathetic girl she's met in an internet chat room, the one who seems to have a home life as unhappy as Skye's. And Jade offers her a safe place to stay . . .
Alone in Manchester, nearly penniless, Skye is willing to trust Jade. Even when it isn't Jade who turns up at the rendezvous, but a grown-up man who says he's Jade's brother . . .


My Review

Set in Manchester, Skye Benson is fifteen years old living with her mum and dad, bullied at school, parents fighting and mum has some mental health issues. After a particularly horrific physical fight between her parents, Skye ends up in a children's home with more bullies. Feeling trapped, unable to find out what is going on with her parents, Skye reaches out to a friend she met on the internet, Jade. Jade can help out, she has the same issues with parents, is the same age and understands Jade completely. When Skye meets Jade it is her older brother who shows up, Skye has no reason not to trust him and gets in the car.

Oooooh this book is a doozy, it has some really dark gritty themes which can be really hard going to read, however the story pulls you in and you have to find out how it plays out. The stories jump between what is happening with Skye and then back to her father where the police, one officer in particular has a vendetta against Jeff Benson. Now his daughter is missing he has the perfect excuse to hound Jeff as his life is falling apart. Skye on the other hand is finding out that Jade's brother Tom is willing to help her anyway he can, now that the police are "after her".

What follows is a stomach turning, well executed plan to get Skye into his way of thinking and whilst the police are pre occupied with Skye's dad, Tom has all the time in the world with her. This story will have the hair on your neck standing up, makes you realize how quickly someone can ruin your life and an insight into Stockholm syndrome and the conditions required to evoke this psychological phenomenon.

The book is fast paced, harrowing, covers many themes including childing exploitation, rape, pedophilia, murder, family violence and relationships to name just a few. It is not an easy read due to the subject content however it is done well enough that you know exactly what is transpiring without focusing purely on the stomach turning details. Due to the story line there does need to be some detail on some of the sexual content and for that I would warn readers before picking up the book. I think Heller has done very well in how she has handled it and it does not deflect or detract from the actual story line.

I think this is one of those books that will stay with you for a long time after putting it down. This is a great author, I can't recommend her high enough. I was a big apprehensive picking this one up as I haven't been enjoying books so much lately, I am glad I did though. 5/5 for me this time and thanks to the publicist over at Hodder & Stoughton for giving me an advanced reading copy. This book came out yesterday so you can grab your own copy now!

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