When You Were Mine

By: Kate Hewitt

Narrated by: Kate Handford

“Dylan…” I croak, but my little boy doesn’t even look at me. “Dylan,” I say again, my voice breaking now, and the social worker gives me a reproving look. I’m not helping, but I don’t care. “Dylan!” My voice is louder now, and my gaze stays locked with my son's as she pulls away from the curb and drives away, taking my very life with her.

Single mother Beth loves her seven-year-old son Dylan with all her heart. He’s her world. But life with Dylan isn’t easy — and his emotional issues push Beth to her very limit. When a misunderstanding leads Dylan to be taken into foster care, she is determined to do whatever she can to get him back.

Mother of two, Ally has always dreamed of fostering — it feels like her chance to give back when she has been so lucky in life. But when Dylan joins their family, Ally finds herself struggling to balance his needs with those of her own children and husband — something Beth can’t help but witness when she visits.

Beth wants nothing more than to find a way to bring her beloved child home. But where is the right home for Dylan? Is it with the mother he was born to? Or is a new mother the greatest gift Beth could give her son?

A beautiful, powerful and ultimately hopeful story of the heartbreaking power of a mother’s love, for fans of Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult, and Jojo Moyes.

Praise for Kate Hewitt:

“So heart-wrenching.... This story just grips you right from the start. I had a really hard time putting it down and found myself reading well into the night.... Perfect for fans of.... Jodi Picoult and Diane Chamberlain.” (Shelley’s Book Nook)

“I don’t think I have ever cried as much.... heart-breaking and unputdownable.... To say this story is a five-star read is an understatement. There are not enough stars in the world to show how much this book has touched me.” (Sinfully Wicked Book Reviews, 5 stars)

“Heart-wrenching and captivating.... as good as anything Jodi Picoult and Diane Chamberlain have ever written.... gripping, engrossing and compelling." (Bookish Jottings)

“Oh my gosh! This book is sad, thrilling, gripping and completely pulls on your heart strings.... Full of heartache, tough decisions, dilemmas, drama and struggles of everyday life.... In two words, simply amazing!” (Books on the Bookshelf, 5 stars)

©2020 Kate Hewitt (P)2020 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Great read!

While it was a slow start with characters going back and forth I truly enjoyed the book and the message! Great read for those working with children ❤️

Great story

I loved this book. It was a heartfelt moving story. I highly recommend this book.

Heartwarming!

I loved the story!
It was slowly at the beginning but the last 4 hours went to fast. As a mother of teenagers I identified myself.
Very easy to listen. Very easy to relate to the 2 characters. Love the ending!

Good book!

The story was good and I was hooked on it early. I listened into the wee hours of the night. Was initially listening to block out tinnitus sound but got hook listening and didn’t fall asleep.

Although the story is mostly predictable. There are many single mothers who faced these challenges.

Loved this book

I am a mother of five including one adopted from the foster care system. This book was excellent and VERY realistic, I related to so much personally and believe any mother would! It was positive from every angle on motherhood and humanity!

A Real Life Story

I loved this story from the beginning. It gives a true picture of what parents, children, and foster parents face in these difficult situations.

Powerful yet heartbreaking story

I listened to this audio book through Audible This was my first time listening to this narrator. She did a great job and I was captivated the entire time. The narrator’s voice was a good fit of the main characters and really brought them to life. Length was 13 hours 16 minutes narrator Kate Handford. When You Were Mine, by Kate Hewitt, is such a powerful yet heartbreaking story. Told from Beth ( the mother ) and Ally ( the foster mother ) each with their own chapters, the thoughts, feelings and individual aspects of each persons life shines through via their own words. To Beth Ally had the perfect life. Beth all alone in the world struggling to make it week to week all while raising a special needs child. Ally lived in a big fancy house , fancy cars , perfect husband and perfect older kids . Little did Beth know Ally's perfect life is about to unravel bit by bit . Being the mother of a special needs child i connected with Beth more than Ally. It is so hard being the parent of a special needs child. Not only is it hard to get the help a child needs it's also hard to deal with people who don't understand.
I have been both Woman though ( a foster mom ) and the mom who has had her children taken over a lie . It is scarry how much power dss has . I do want to say that is one thing that was wrong through the whole book. Dss does not work like this. Had the author done more research on how dss actually works this would have been a 5 ⭐ read. I don't normally read books that involve dss or dfs because it is something i just can't cope with. The characters were all well developed. Some I hated others I loved. I felt so connected to some of them like I knew them personally. By the end of the book my mind changed somewhat about Ally. This book took me on one heck of an emotional roller coaster. I smiled ,got mad, and cried. Boy did i cry and get mad . I highly recommend reading this story with a box of tissues nearby. I loved how the author reminds us that life doesn’t always work out how we planned and that's okay.
It also just goes to show no one's life is perfect . If you want to find out which mother ends up with Dylan then you will just have to read it to find out.

It touches your heart!

Beautiful story that keeps you engaged the whole time. Performances are great! It is almost as good as if you are seeing different people talk.
This story remind us how hard we are on ourselves as mothers when the only thing we need to do is the best we can be for ourselves and our children.
I do recommend this book!

I completed in 1 Week I loved It!!

I have been listening to audiobooks for a few years now, My genre usually King and Koontz. I saw title had just come out and figured I would give it a try. I listened to the sample first because the narrator is everything as everyone knows and Kate Handford was the best narrator I have ever come across. She is on spot with the voices of the many characters without over doing it. She has soothing voice and her inflections with the characters are so slight but so apparent. Now for the story itself, Great, heartbreaking, honest, and very insightful. As a Mother and Grandmother this book rings so true across all genres. My take away was that no one person is perfect. Parenting is hard and at the end of the day no matter what society dictates or what our parents taught us the quintessential being will always be growing along with the child into a detailed personification.
So, yes, I totally recommend this book to all the soon to be, brand new, still in the thick of it, already have been and always will be Moms out there!!