Silent Sisters

A True Story

By: Joanne Lee, Ann Cusack

Narrated by: Melanie Crawley

Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

For over 20 years, Joanne Lee's mother kept the remains of three newborn babies hidden in her wardrobe. For the first time since exposing her mother's crimes, Joanne breaks her silence over her family's horrific ordeal.

Growing up, Joanne suffered at the hands of a violent boyfriend and controlling relatives, as her mother lapsed into a downward spiral following the breakup of her marriage. But the consequences of her mother's lifestyle turned out to be worse than Joanne could ever have imagined. She already knew about the baby buried in a shallow makeshift grave next to the family plot. But when Joanne came across a red plastic bin in her mother's wardrobe in 2009, she realised that the family home held an even more sinister secret. In Silent Sisters, Joanne will tell her story, detailing her struggle to understand her mother, to piece together the truth and give the four babies the proper burial they deserve.

©2019 Joanne Lee and Ann Cusack (P)2020 W. F. Howes Ltd

Open your schedule. You won’t want to shut off.

Loved the narrator. This book was hard to put down. I listened about 5 hours the first day. What an awful awful story she had to share.

save your money

I wasn't captivated by the narrator. is prefer someone without an English accent. I'm not even going to finish it. wasted money.

So Well Written and Performed!

A shocking but brilliantly told story! This book is so well written! Each character is well developed and comes to life as if you're listening to them tell their story. The performance was excellent! I'm glad I did not have a Nana Pat!! Or a Mother Bernadette!

The best story I have listened to yet!!

I loved to listen to this story. The narrator made it feel as though I was right inside the story. This story brought all the emotions out and kept me wanting to listen more. That says a lot because I have not been too successful at finishing a story on audible. I seem to get lost and distracted, but not with this story. Thank you for a good one!

heart wrenching

this book is very well read and a great but sad story. it is like a hundred stabs to the heart. but for anyone who has grown up in a disfunctional home it is so relatable. May Heaven hold these innocent children.

Half marks

This story has the potential to be horrifying, but it’s told in such a flat emotionless way that it’s almost boring.

The Struggle

Struggled with the hopelessness of the story. It was well written but depressing to read.

Interesting and a bit creepy.

I liked it a lot. loved the narration mostly, as the accents really made me see the characters.

Twists and turns of a courageous soul!

Well written true story. A bit lengthy with the details in the beginning but overall very good. I like that it has a positive ending. The narrator was easy to listen to!

Great book

Enjoyed listening while I worked. Husband started listening too. Loved the narrators accent with the story.

Listened to it all in three days....

...... the Audible version is just as gripping as I imagine the print format is.
This book is an honest and open account and not just skirting around the issues. Excellent.

Good true story

interesting, gory at points but a great true crime story. I felt the story told all the details .

Very involving

Good book, very involving, written in simple language and not unnecessary complicated, like it often happens with stories.

So interesting

To say I enjoyed this book is not right considering the subject but I really couldn’t stop listening. This is not my normal type of book as some like this I find very woe is me BUT Joanne is not in the least like this. She is very strong and very capable.

I just wish she had told her mum where to go so much sooner than she did. And as for nanny Pat.............

Good narration great book

A Harrowing Story of Horrific Childhood Neglect.

This is a story about Joanne Lee, her siblings and some of the wider family. Joannes mother lies at the heart of many of her issues, having to grow up very quickly in what was a difficult childhood where she and her brother and sister suffered severe neglect. The events of this story took place at a time when there wasn’t as much awareness of mental health issues as such and safeguarding for children wasn’t strict as it is today. It’s seems as if social workers weren’t as alert or attentive, and as a result children like Joanne felt well under the radar for childhood neglect and fought their way through their young lives. Although details of this story is very disturbing the story itself is written in such a respectful and detailed was that you can really begin to understand the phrase “you really don’t know what goes on behind closed doors of any family”. There are still many vulnerable children out there today they struggle through their young lives. A very interesting and gripping read, I listened in two sittings.

Brilliant

loved it I couldn't stop listening to this book it is brilliantly read and a story of hope and overcoming such tragedy would recommend to everyone

Brilliant

A story of a child resilience brought up by a mother who completely neglected and emotionally abusive and physically neglected her. The connections she had with others and her strength to raise her siblings in poverty whist she watched her mum neglect herself and her children . There is a darker side to this as well as the mother appears to have pregnancies but no babies born. Well written and well narrated. A great display of the human spirt.

Great Read

Shocking story, very well written and read. Would definitely recommend. Hard to listen to in places, story of a very resilient family.

Such an amazing book

Unbelievably sad but so well told, you could feel the emotions in the story telling from Joanne and her sister and daughters. What a remarkable lady telling her baby sisters story

brilliant

loved it, narration great. unbelievable how people grow in strength in order to make right the wrongs of their parents. I've been there too and have struggled to find peace with what they did