Books & Java

Once Lost

by Ber Carroll

 

Are some things better left unfound?

 

Best friends Louise and Emma grew up next door to each other in a grim inner-city suburb of Dublin. Now Louise, an art conservator, is thousands of miles away in Sydney, restoring a beautiful old painting. She meets Dan, whose family welcome her as one of their own, but she will always feel lost until she finds her mother who walked out when she was just eight years old. 
 
Back in Dublin, Emma is stuck in a job where she is under-appreciated and underpaid, but her biggest worry is her ex-partner, Jamie. Emma has lost so much because of Jamie: her innocence, her reputation, almost her life. Now she is at risk of losing Isla, her young daughter. 
 
So where is Louise's mother? 

Will Emma ever be free of her ex? 

Both women frantically search for answers, but when the truth finally emerges it is more shattering than they had ever expected.

 

Author Bio:

Ber Carroll was born in Blarney, County Cork, and moved to Australia in 1995. Her first novel, Executive Affair, was inspired by her initial impressions of Sydney, and her exciting, dynamic work environment at the time. Ber now lives in Sydney’s northern beaches with her husband and two children.  Incidentally, Ber is short for Bernadette, but please don’t call her Bernadette: this is what her mother calls her when she is in trouble for something. Ber’s novels have been published in five countries, including Ireland. If you would like to know more about Ber and her novels, you can visit her website at www.bercarroll.com, or you can subscribe to her newsletter (Book Chat) with fellow authors Dianne Blacklock and Liane Moriarty (see Ber’s website for a link to the newsletter and to find Ber on Facebook).

My Review: 

Thank you to CLP Blog Tours for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Ber Carroll's book Once Lost was fantastic. The story examines the struggle one can experience when a traumatic situation leaves questions unanswered and feelings unresolved. It is about the heavy weight of dealing with life when you have not had closure on  a childhood incident you were not emotionally mature enough to process but have carried into adulthood. This is the story of two best friends - Louise and Emma. Louise's mother abandons her when she is 8 years old. Even at such a young age, Louise senses that things aren't right. He mother has erratic mood swings and  is not the loving and affectionate mother Louise desperately needs. She simply ups and leaves one day for no apparent reason abandoning Louise in the care of her step father. Throughout her childhood, Louise longs to have her mother return to her but to no avail. Her neighbor and friend's mother steps in as a kind of surrogate mother to Louise and involves herself in  Louise's upbringing.  Louise and Emma grow up like sisters except that Emma feels the unconditional love and security of having a mother around at all times that puts the daughter above her own needs. The book switches from chapter to chapter between Louise's story and Emma's story. Emma has had her mother all along but she has a bout of rebellion in her teenage years and gets involved with a boy, Jamie, who brings nothing but trouble with drugs and drinking. Emma finds herself pregnant at a very young age and forever tied to the unpredictable and often dangerous consequences of having a baby with someone whose life has no direction. Louise and Emma are now in their mid twenties and are both seeking resolve - Louise wants to find the mother that left her so she can know why and Emma wants to keep Jamie - her daughter Isla's father - as far away from endangering Isla and eliminate his influence on her.  Louise restores art pieces all over the world. As such it enables her to go around the world and further her search for her mother. Both restoring art and her search for her mother become her life's work. A job in Australia takes her to Sydney where she thinks her mother might have fled to. In Australia she meets people that help her and become the support system she has always needed. Back in Ireland, Emma is doing a lot of growing up. She's a good mother, she's in a stable relationship and is doing her best to make up for the mistakes of her youth. But Jamie has a newfound desire to be a father to Isla that threatens Emma's protective hold on her daughter. I don't want to give away what happens to both Louise and Emma as they seek closure on childhood wrongs but their journey is engrossing and poignant. Ber Carroll tells a story that is real and taps into a very human need - the need for love, security and reassurance that we get from bonding, loving relationships early on in life. I not only recommend this novel but give it highest praises.