Alena Dillon

Thanks so much to Libro.fm, Harper Audio and William Morrow Books for letting me listen and review this engrossing story.
I listened/read this story and finished a little while ago, but I've been thinking and digesting it for a while because I wasn't sure how to write my thoughts on this one, there are parts of this book that are a bit hard to read for me and I think for anyone but it was also a good book too.
This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I had a hard time putting it down because it was very engrossing, engaging and interesting and on the other hand I didn't want to read it or finish it at times as well because it was hard to read parts of it, made me cringe and feel sick and then it was also a bit emotional as well so make of that what you will.
This book is about Mercy House or rather the people/characters and their stories that are behind Mercy House. In particular, it's about a nun, Sister Evelyn, who is one of the big forces behind keeping Mercy House up and running to help provide a safe haven for the abused and abandoned women.
Mercy House is in a Brooklyn neighborhood that has a drug problem as well and Sister Evelyn along with some fellow sisters runs this place as a safe house for women and girls that show up in the middle of the night to escape abusive boyfriends/family members, prostitutes, immigrants and other women who have all been broken and hurt by men. All of these women know what it's like to be abused and degraded by men even Sister Evelyn - those are hard things to read. I know they happen in real life, but they're still hard to hear about sometimes even in stories that are fiction because I know they could be based on real-life stories and my heart hurts to read those things happening to others, it's not an easy topic in fiction or real life.
Sister Evelyn keeps going and helping others and never is thrown off by anything until one day when she is told that a Bishop is coming to check out and investigate Mercy House and the nuns and they don't want the church to find out everything they do/have done to aid these women because some of the ways they have provided help are forbidden by the Church. They're worried that if the Church finds out some of the things they've done to aid these women that the Church will want them to shut Mercy House down. Also, Sister Evelyn has dark secrets threatening to be uncovered and cause problems in connection with these things as well.
Sister Evelyn and the other sisters will do and end up doing whatever they possibly can to protect and keep Mercy House running and in the process, Sister Evelyn finds the power of mercy and grace bestowed upon her in her own life as well.
If you can handle reading some hard things, some language and such, then you might want to check this out, but be warned, this is not an easy, light-hearted fun read.
TW: Adult language/somewhat explicit nature of rape, abuse, shooting/guns, drugs, some profanity, a very heavy adult-themed story with Mercy House being a haven for abused/abandoned women, drugs, alcohol… (lisätietoja)

We meet 87-year-old Peggy and her daughter Kathy.

Kathy got a call from her mother that she had fallen. Kathy and her unemployed husband Neil rushed over and learned that Peggy had broken her hip.

Her mother was something to contend with and had a secret that she never told her her children.

The secret was that Peggy had been a pilot in the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots…WASP.

Now Peggy was reduced to relying on her daughter and sons.

Kathy had just gotten a new job, but regardless she would have to deal with her mother since the brothers were all out of state.

When an invitation arrived to attend a WASP reunion, Peggy denied she had been in the WASPS and said the invitation was a mistake. She said she had no idea why she received that.

Kathy found her mother on the front of a magazine which verified that she indeed had been a WASP.

Kathy had to deal with her mother staying with her and caring for her while trying to find out why she got this invitation.

Ms. Dillon perfectly described the difficulties and rewards of parenting and caring for a parent.

I enjoyed the present-day chapters more than the past and did laugh a few times.

A lot of family drama inside.

It was interesting to learn of the WASP program.

Ms. Dillon is a great storyteller. 4/5

This book was given to me by Gretchen Koss of Tandem Literary: Publicity and Marketing for an honest review.… (lisätietoja)

In present day, Kathy Begley has returned to work after two decades after her husband has been laid off and the children are grown and out of the house. Her elderly mother has just had a hip replacement and is being transferred to a rehab center.

Then a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony invitation arrives in the mail, and Kathy learns that her mother Peggy had a secret life she never shared with her daughter. In WWII, Peggy had been a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP).

Peggy had grown up flying with her father and then joined him in his crop-dusting business. So, when the opportunity presented itself to become a WASP she jumped at it.

I enjoyed this dual-timeline story (1944 and 2009) with its history and family dynamics. This is a story many of us encounter, that of not recognizing our mothers had a life before we were born. I loved that Kathy was determined to get her mother the recognition she deserved, even though her mother denies being a WASP.

I really liked Kathy as she had empathy for the patients and was able to deal with her highly inappropriate boss. She was a strong woman, much like her mother. Peggy was a bit harder to like. But one must remember that everyone deals differently with what hand has been dealt to them. Those experiences helped shape the wife and mother she became. The dynamics between mother and daughter were actually the core of the story.

Dillon did some great research in order to provide us with a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the WASPs. These were some tough women! Since male pilots were all in Europe fighting the war, women were recruited and trained to fly non-combat missions, but sometimes they got caught in dangerous situations.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction and mother-daughter stories.… (lisätietoja)