Little Disasters: the compelling and thought-provoking new novel from the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Anatomy of a Scandal

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It turns out baby Betsey has a fractured skull, and Jess's only explanation is that Betsey was trying to pull herself up on the refrigerator and fell. As a mother, I did feel my support generally stayed with Jess and I didn’t really doubt her, despite the looming questions over her actions. Since Betsy was born Jess has felt isolated and yet she is so unsure of herself, scared of some of her inner thoughts that she fails to reach out for help, even from her closest friends. Jess suggests this must have caused the injury, which she hadn't noticed before bringing the baby to the ER. Sin embargo, cuando llegué al final, comprendí que la autora me había llevado por los caminos marcados por ella, hasta un desenlace distinto del que esperaba.

You’ll be kept on the edge of your seat by this carefully crafted novel with multiple twists throughout.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who is looking for their next read. The story goes backwards and forwards from the incident to their meeting at ante natal classes to the incident and beyond. Mel has two kids and when the novel starts, her husband has just left her for a much younger assistant. As a mother of four daughters, I could relate to some of the isolation and feelings of helplessness when a newborn continues to cry and cry despite all of your efforts. She claims after Betsey vomited in her crib, her husband insisted she bring the little one in to be checked over.

Anatomy spent 10 weeks on the Sunday Times bestseller list, and Netflix announced in May its plans to adapt the novel into a six-part miniseries. She interviewed several pediatricians, a perinatal psychiatrist, an obstetrician, a retired detective, and social workers.The story, which is told from the alternating points of view of Liz and Jess (and occasionally other people), jumps around all over the place: from Liz having memories of her childhood; to the prenatal class where Liz, Jess, Charlotte, and Mel met; to a recent barbecue for the women and their families; to the police questioning Jess and Ed; to Jess giving birth to Betsey; to Liz dealing with her mother's ongoing drunken bouts; to things that happened in Jess and Ed's house; to Ed being concerned about his wife; to Jess worrying about her baby; and more. But underneath, Jess is an overwhelmed and sleep-deprived mother, trying to do everything perfectly and hold it together. Even in super-sleuth mode and detective cap on, I was so sure of the direction that I started getting annoyed that I had figured it out so quickly!

From the bestselling author of Anatomy of a Scandal – a new thought-provoking novel exploring the complexity of motherhood and all that connects and disconnects us. The characterization may not be fantastic, but it is solid enough that great empathy is felt for Liz, Jess, and the cast of supporting characters. If I had known that going into it, I may have had different feelings about the book, but I kept waiting for things to happen that just didn't.Sarah Vaughan’s “Little Disasters” is a horrifying tale of the struggles of motherhood, family secrets, and the stigma attached to mental illness.

The ending also just did not work for me - while I do enjoy a book that ties things up in the end, I do not like when a serious, life-altering plot suddenly flashes six months in the future and everything is now coming up roses. The story alternates between different characters, mostly Liz and Jess, and also goes back in time quite a bit so you get the full picture. After journalism college and work at The Times, I trained with the Press Association and spent 11 years on The Guardian as a news reporter, health correspondent and political correspondent.And Sarah Vaughan brings the dichotomous complexities of the experience into sharp focus in her newest novel, Little Disasters. My fourth novel, Little Disasters, partly set in a hospital and in a similar vein to Anatomy, was published in April 2020, during the first lockdown, and was a Waterstone’s Thriller of the Month. Liz and Jess have been friends for years, and she thinks she knows her friend well but a trip to emergency after a blow to Jess's daughters head has Liz questioning if she really knows Jess at all. She was 19 weeks pregnant with her second baby in July 2007 when she collapsed in the street and crawled home.