My Daughter, My Mother

Book excerpt: In 1984 two young mothers meet at a toddler group in Birmingham. As their friendship grows, they share with each other the difficulties in their lives: Joanne, a shy girl, is afraid of her husband. When her mother, Margaret is rushed into hospital, the family find that Margaret was evacuated from Birmingham as a child. Sooky, good-natured, has already been through a disastrous marriage, her mother Meena, refuses to speak to Sooky. Meena has spent 20 years trying to fit into life in Birmingham dealing with old ways and new. This is the story of two young women discovering the heartbreak of their mothers' lives.