On an ordinary day in 2017, Jo receives a phone call about her 18-year-old
daughter, Jessie. It is the call that every parent dreads. In 1940, 17-year-old
Alice ties on her facemask and enters a laboratory to harvest a potential new
miracle drug called penicillin. The lives of these women become entwined
when Jo finds Alice’s diary in a vintage handbag. Past and present overlap
and merge as life-changing events resonate for them all across the gulf of
time.
This is a story about a diary opening a door on the past, chronicling a young
woman’s determination to succeed against all odds, while unknowingly
inspiring others to step into a better life. Set against the backdrop of the
Second World War, the infancy of antibiotics and a modern medical
emergency and its consequences, it not only reminds us how fortunate we
are to live now, but also serves as a stark warning about the fragility of life
and the dangers of complacency.
Margot Shepherd is a British author who was born in Yorkshire where she spent her
childhood. She now lives in rural Sussex with her husband and Springer Spaniel, Genni.
When she’s not writing she works in medical research at the University of Surrey. She writes about family relationships with a particular emphasis on women and science from a female point of view.
My thoughts: Jo finds Alice’s diary from 1940 in a vintage handbag, and inspired by Alice’s life, both Jo and her daughter decide to make changes to their lives. Jessie has contracted meningitis, and thankfully has recovered, Alice’s diary helps her as she and Jo read it.
Alice works in a lab in 1940 helping develop penicillin – and make huge changes in treating infectious diseases, saving lives. Her father is away fighting in the war, and she struggles with her mum and brother. Her work inspires her to want more and apply to be a nurse.
As Jo and Jessie read Alice’s diary and the story moves back and forth in time, these three women will all become more than they are.
I felt personally connected to Alice’s story, my mum had a serious kidney condition as a child and was hospitalised – antibiotics saved her life, I wouldn’t be here if they didn’t exist thanks to scientists and their assistants like Alice. And much like Alice, my mum trained as a nurse and served in the NHS for over 40 years.
I also really loved Jo and Jessie – their relationship is strengthened as they live together during Jessie’s recovery, Jo realises she’s surrendered her life in order to do what her husband thought best, and that she should rebuild her career and do something for herself now both her daughters are grown up.
Jessie also decides a bit more about her future – she’s studying physics and wants to work on antibiotic resistance, so more people can survive illnesses like the meningitis she contracted.
The book is full of hope – all three women across both timelines are moving towards hopeful, bright new futures.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 