The Paper Bracelet: A gripping novel of heartbreaking secrets in a home for unwed mothers

I really enjoyed this story about a nurse, Katie, who used to work in a mother and baby home in Ireland in the 1960s, when the single pregnant mothers were hidden away in shame to have their baby, and the babies were then taken away from them and adopted by 'proper' parents. Whilst there Katie collected the paper bracelets they used for the babies wrists and made notes of the names of the girls and their babies. Katie is in her 70s and her husband has recently died, and she now feels the time is right to try and help some of them be reunited. So with the help of her niece she posts on an internet forum and things start getting really interesting with multiple people looking for their birth mothers. There are plenty of surprises along the way, with some people happy and others not so happy, but it unearths plenty of stories along the way. I really liked the way the story flicked back and forth between the 1960s and the present day and gave you a real feeling of how things used to be, very sad in parts. There was plenty of will they/won't they find who they're looking for, and it is defintely a page-turner, you just want to know if they find who they are looking for and what the outcome will be. There's also secrets being kept... which eventually come out towards the end of the book. A really thought-provoking but fascinating book about how things used to, unfortunately, be for single pregnant mothers in Ireland. A great read, with a really satisfying ending.