Whisper My Secret (Whisper My Secret #1) by JB Rowley

Whisper My Secret (Whisper My Secret #1) Reviews

• 
  Brenda

  What a heart wrenching, yet heart warming true story this is! Aussie author, JB Rowley, discovered her mother, Myrtle, had a previous marriage with 3 children, prior to her marriage to her father, George, after Myrtle’s death, and set out to discover what she could about it, and to finding her half-siblings.
  
  It gives new meaning to the mother-in-law from hell when you read about Myrtle’s life, how she fell in love with Henry at a very young age, and Henry being quite a bit older than her, and much more experienced, where Myrtle was very naive. When Myrtle fell pregnant, they were immediately forced into marriage, as this was in the late 1930’s and having a baby out of wedlock was a terrible thing, with marriage being the only answer.
  
  So Myrtle’s young life of freedom and happiness changed to one of cold disdain by her mother-in-law, and being totally ignored by the man she loved, and whom she thought loved her as well. With Henry going out with his mates until the early hours most nights, and his mother supporting him, where he could do nothing wrong, Myrtle felt very lonely, her only happiness being in caring for young Bertie. As they lived with her in-laws she couldn’t escape the harshness of being told she was a terrible mother, and that she had trapped Henry into marriage, and many other things. Except for the friendship of her cousin Lily, and the occasional visit to her mother, who lived in the flat next door, and who doted on Bertie, she felt very alone.
  
  Over the next few years, Audrey, then Noel were born, but when Noel was just a baby, and Henry was at war, her three beautiful children were taken from her, and she was told she was an ‘unfit mother’. Myrtle was devastated, and her mother, Ettie, took her in to care for her. She visited the children when she was allowed, in the Home, but Bertie wasn’t handling the separation from his mother at all well.
  
  When Myrtle met George, he was a soldier and stationed in her home town of Albury. He gave her friendship, and kindness, and gradually she began to love him, and see him as a completely different character to Henry. She felt safe with George, loved and cherished. When he asked her to marry him, she very nervously told him all about Henry and the children. She was worried he would think she was a bad person, and she would lose him. But George loved Myrtle, and he promised he would never leave her side.
  
  So George and Myrtle’s life began, and the happiness that followed was beautiful. The detail of Myrtle’s early life has been well researched, and JB has shown what a wonderful life her parents gave her and her siblings. The grief and crushing guilt that Myrtle felt over being unable to care for Bertie, Audrey and Noel is incredibly sad. JB is currently writing a follow-up story about the three children (adults now) which I will be very anxious to read when it’s published.
  
  This story of tragedy, loss, guilt and shame, topped by a mother’s love and devotion is one I highly recommend, one that shows that Myrtle did absolutely nothing wrong, and it is also a credit to her daughter, JB!
  
• 
  Carina

  I was looking for something to kill an hour's worth of time earlier today, and happened to come across this book whilst browsing through my Kindle desktop app. Given the books surrounding it I think this was another of the 'free from Amazon' books I used to get all the time, but it seemed to have an interesting enough synopsis so I figured I'd start reading. Turns out at about 190 pages this novella was the perfect length for me to read in that hour.
  
  This is an interesting book to review for me, it's written about the authors mother and her experiences in her first marriage. From my understanding it was also written after her death at which point the first marriage came to light for her children... so it means that a lot of the events covered here must be re-created from the memories of other people, or were pieced together from correspondences or diaries or something.
  
  Because this is "based on a true story" I find the writing style interesting as, apart from the few introspective moments, this does read like a story, like something that is entirely fictional. How much of this is true? How much of this is being imagined by the author to tell what she sees as her mothers story? We are treated to Myrtle's thoughts in places throughout this - but with no way to know that they were truly what she was thinking at that moment in time.
  
  Do you see why I say I am finding this interesting to review now? I think this uncertainess that I had about the trueness of the events made this more enjoyable a read. In terms of plot (and what a word to use to describe the events in someones life) this is rather, well, straight forward... it is very reminiscent of (and apologies to the author for saying this) some chick-lit books - you know the ones where the guy knocks a girl up, she thinks he is "the one", he cheats/leaves/does something, she finds the "right" one and they live happily ever after... I think you could argue that Myrtle certainly gets 'a' happy ending here, if not 'the' happy ending she and her first three children necessarily deserved.
  
  Part of me thinks that writing this book may have been carthartic for the author, a way to come to terms with what she has found out about her mother, but then I think I shouldn't presume that was the authors intent at all! For such a short, and simple, book this has made me think a lot - though likely not on the topic intended!
  
  In terms of what Myrtle went through, it certainly doesn't seem right or fair. As I said though, she seems to have had a happy ending, as did Bertie, Audrey and Noel, so this isn't for me a sad book. The part that stands out for me comes near the end, when JB is taking about Myrtle and her father, and saying how they did small things for one another. It reminded me in a way of the Magi story (though not as moralistic!) and comes across as incredibly sweet. The last few lines of the book are well used "she lived her life as best she could with the cards she had been dealt" - it is a lovely way to end this, and really brings life to Myrtle and her decisions I think.
• 
  Suzanne Goldlust

  I'm not sure if this book is self-published, but it certainly seems like it is. It would have benefitted from a good editor. The poor punctuation and clunky writing distracted me from the story, which is reasonably interesting. I wonder how much of this "nonfiction novel" is invented by the author, and how much she was able to uncover through her research. A fast read, not especially well-written, but not totally time wasted.
• 
  Angie Pachniak

  Nice telling of the story. The graphic sex scenes were definitely not needed and seemed out of place in this story. There were only a couple, but definitely not needed.
• 
  Gina

  I was intrigued by the description of a true story. Although the story seems to be very fictionalized, it is an interesting, sad at times, happy at times account as recreated from the author's research. I found myself wondering what I would have done in some of the situations and realizing how different the choices were in those times. I admire the strength of JB Rowley's mother and was happy to know she did find true love and the family she had always dreamed of. I would love to know if some of the characters in the book existed in real life or just in the fictionalized version, such as Minnie who was considered crazy but who offered kind and insightful advice.
• 
  Lesley

  Overall it was good. She definitely represented the unfortunate time period when women were treated less than and made me want to smack the evil matriarchal figure. I wish that Ms. Rowley would've developed the storyline of her step-siblings. That said, I thought it was cool that the author addressed that and a sequel is in the works.
• 
  Karen Monahan

  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the follow-up that was recently released. At times, reading it was frustrating and anger-inducing and at other times filled my heart! The characters were so rich and true and no wonder, they were REAL...I didn't realize it was non-fiction until I was done and saw that the story continues.
• 
  Shirley

  Sad depressing story. I would not recommend. I got it free on Book Bub and felt like I needed to finish in case it got better.
• 
  Yibbie

  Novelization of facts. Not my cup of tea, but I quit for a different reason. It was lewd. Very lewd.
• 
  Dan Rogers

  This is the story of the author's mother and her life before marrying the author's father. She had a family before this marriage which she was kind of forced away from. All because of the choices made by others. There were so many things that happened in the book which, with a little more foresight, could have been avoided. Just a sad story overall. I know the author has written another book in this series but I don't think I'm going to read it anytime soon.
• 
  Heather

  Heart wrenching and heartwarming
  
  Thank you, JB Rowley, for sharing the story of your mother. What a strong and loving woman, and mother, she was.
• 
  DonnaJo Pallini

  A beautiful tribute to her mother and a heart rendering tale of loss, grief and love.
• 
  Judie

  I began reading WHISPER MY SECRET late Wednesday afternoon. At 7:45, I was very tired and decided to go to bed. I planned to read another chapter before falling asleep but the next thing I knew it was almost midnight, I had finished the book, and bought the sequel, MOTHER OF TEN.
  The book is a biographical novel about a mother coping with and overcoming extreme difficulties written after the mother’s death by her daughter. It was conceived when JB Rowley three birth certificates hidden away after her mother’s death. While much of the conversations are imagined, they are based on interviews with family members and neighbors. It is a loving story of a large, scrambling family in Australia mainly in the 1940s and 50s.
  Myrtle was an only child born in Australia in 1920. Ten years later her father died, forcing Myrtle and her mother, Etti, to move to a smaller home while Etti battled depression. Myrtle’s primary companion was her cousin Lily, two years younger and, later on, a neighbor, Henry Bishop, several years older. When she was nineteen years old, Myrtle became pregnant. “If only her mother had explained that her body was capable of making babies and how it might happen. The cryptic advice she had offered about boys had left her vulnerable and ignorant. Now she was having a baby before her nineteenth birthday. It just wasn’t fair.”
  Myrtle and Henry got married, much to his mother’s chagrin. He ignored her, spending much of his time at his club and attending concerts without her. He did manage to impregnate her two more times but ignored his children. Myrtle suffered severe post-natal depression after the birth of her third child. When World War II broke out, he enlisted.
  His mother, Agnes, was very unhappy about the marriage of her only child to a woman who “trapped him.” She was very critical towards Myrtle and also didn’t want much to do with the children. She claimed that two of the children were not Henry’s.
  While Henry was in the service, Agnes started rumors that Myrtle was an unfit mother. She convinced Henry to divorce Myrtle (it didn’t take much convincing) and seek custody of the children. When the story opens, Myrtle is on a picnic with her children when two police officers and a woman from Children’s Services arrive, take the children away and place them in an orphanage. Myrtle hadn’t seen the letter about the court case regarding her fitness so she didn’t attend it.
  On the advice of her mother, Myrtle decided to not fight the decision for several reasons and eventually moved to another part of Australia. There she built another family with a man who loved her profoundly and helped her raise seven children. She never spoke about her first three children.
  WHISPER MY SECRET reveals not only Myrtle’s secret, but also secrets about her own family and Henry’s family. JB Rowley is an excellent storyteller. She describes things and activities so vividly that the reader feels he or she is actually there. One section about a watch and a wireless sounds like an O’Henry story. Eventually Etti reveals Agnes’s secret in a very public location.
  MOTHER OF TEN includes some corrections from this book based on new information as well as telling the story of what happened to the first three children.
  I got this book as a free Amazon download.
  
• 
  Diane

  This heartbreaking story of a young Australian family is beautifully told by one of the daughters. I am anxious to read the sequel, MOTHER OF TEN.
• 
  Dawn

  You can tell from the cover picture that this book has history involved. What kind is what you ask and the title alone draws you in for an answer because everyone loves a secret. The history in this book is about the life of the main character, Myrtle. The story begins with Myrtles daughter sorting through her mothers belongings. She finds items that leave her confused and mystified. A journey begins to solve the mystery of of her findings. Once solved, she learns about her mothers secret. She sees her mother as a person, a young woman who made choices for her children again and again, with drastic consequences.
  Excellent reading! Well written so much that the characters seem real. They make you forget that the story is fictional. You find yourself caught up in a range of emotions as the story unfolds before your eyes.
• 
  Paula

  This was a heartwrenching book about Myrtle a young girl seduced by an older man (10 years her senior). This is back in the 40's so they get married because she is pregnant. Myrtle is punished by her husband and his family because he married beneath him. After her third child, Henry wants to dump her for his longtime girlfriend, but his mother wants the babies. Because of her stature in society it's like taking candy from a baby and Myrtle's children are taken from her.
  
  After a while, she moves on and marries another man who is very good to her and has seven more children. She never tells her current children about their siblings and after her death they find out. The author investigates and tells Myrtle's story.
  
  This is a well told story of Myrtle's life and how she lost her babies. It reads like a novel but is true. I'm anxious to start the next book "Mother of 10".
• 
  Julia Kline

  Be warned - this isn't really a memoir/biography as the description might lead you to believe. It is a fictionalized retelling of what happened to the author's mother. While it is based in fact, the story is completely recreated. And I am not totally convinced that it needed to be recreated. I can see Rowley wanting to write this book to have as a family legacy, but I did not find it an exceptionally necessary read for an outsider. Of course it's a sad story, but it is not groundbreaking or mind-blowing or, I'm guessing, that unique a story for the time in which it is set. If you are looking for a quick, easy read to kill time on a boring train ride, go for it. But besides that, no need to bother.
  
  Rating: 1.5/5
• 
  Nells

  I read the book in a day and it was really short. Most of it was really heartbreaking and I do believe that back then it would have been possible for events to unfold the way they did. The only problem I had with it was how short it was and how it could have been extended a little more but it just seem spread out then cut short at the end. I know she's working on a sequel but I don't think I'll be revisiting this story again.
• 
  Heather

  An unusual book - a memoir written in the style of a work of fiction.
  Desperately sad and how she coped is a true reflection of her strength of character. I truly hope the characters who treated her so badly got the life they deserved.
  
• 
  Susan Langhoff

  This would have been better had it just been presented as fiction. It was fiction based on reality in the author's life. The whole time I was reading I was wishing I didn't know that. When she described a sex scene (fictional. I doubt her mother shared this with her before her death.) involving her mother it was just too much. It didn't even need to be in there. Did her editor demand it? The storyline was interesting and engaging. I wish it had been handled differently.
• 
  Tammy

  It is disturbing how shame can control a person. This story was from another time - when women weren’t often very bold. Although a couple of women were extremely bold in this story.
  This young lady, mostly because of circumstances in her formative years, seemed to lack confidence in herself and allowed some in her life to run roughshod over her. She allowed their control to cause her to walk away from everything. I was disappointed that she didn’t even put up a fight.
• 
  Patty

  The topic was intriguing but the writing was poor. It read too much like a novel. That may be a compliment to most but I don't read fiction. This book was too drawn out at the beginning and rushed at the end with a very abrupt ending. The author noted that there will be a sequel. I won't be reading it.
• 
  Barbara Mahoney

  This is the true story of a mother who's 3 young children are taken away from her. She keeps it a secret and moves on with her life and has 7 more children with another man.
  
  The book is written by one of her children who discovers the "secret" and who does research to find out what happened.
  
  It's a touching story.
  
  Now I'd like to read the sequel "Mother of Ten."
• 
  Debbie

  I made it through this, but feel like it was a waste of time. This is supposed to be a memoir of the author's mother's life. However, you find out that it was written after the mother passed away....so most of this is speculation and fiction. After two chapters I was ready to give up, but I completed it. Now onto something better to read.
• 
  Margaret A Register

  Great story
  
  What a beautiful story of sadness and joy, of hate and love, of emptiness and fullness. Heartwarming, well-written, and well-edited.
• 
  Melissa Grabel

  Good book but doest seem complete want to know more.
• 
  Jessyca Garcia

  I enjoyed reading “Whisper My Secret: A Memoir” by JB Rowley. This story is about Rowley’s mother, Myrtle. Myrtle lived a hard life. Rowley only discovered how hard of a life Myrtle had after she died. She also discovered that Myrtle had three other children that no one knew about. Rowley decided to tell Myrtle’s unheard story in this book.
  
  I was drawn to “Whisper My Secret: A Memoir” because I had just lost my mother and was left with a lot of unanswered questions about her past. I felt a connection to Rowley and was inspired by how she discovered her mother’s past. I understand that not everything in this story is totally accurate, but it still captivated my attention. I started off wanting to hate Myrtle for abandoning her children. By the end I understood why she did it and I probably would have done the same thing in her situation. At that time women were expected to behave a certain way or be shunned by society. I am happy that Myrtle finally found a little happiness in her life with George, but I know she always had a shadow of sadness hanging over her. George sort of reminded me of my stepfather in the way that he loved Myrtle. I was a little sad when I finished this book. I still wanted to know more about Myrtle and her children. I also want to know what the children that she gave up think. I am glad that Rowley has written another book to answer some of my questions I cannot wait to read it!
  ~I reviewed this book for Readers' Favorite