*NEW BOOK REVIEW* The Way We Were by Sinéad Moriarty

What would happen if your husband disappeared? You think he’s dead - but in fact he isn’t…

When Alice's husband Ben dies suddenly, her world falls apart. A life without him is unimaginable.

The only thing that keeps her going are her daughters Jools, 15 and Alice, 11. 

Somehow all three of them come through the dark days. In time, it's even possible for Alice to consider marrying again, with the girls' blessing. So when Ben turns up after three years, her world is again turned upside-down. The girls assume that their family can go back to the way they were. Alice is not so sure.

Once more Alice has to find the strength to be the mother her daughters need her to be. But this time what that means is far from clear...

I have SO much love for this book. I loved the characters, I loved the storyline. 

You'd be forgiven for thinking this was going to be 'just another romance story' but it's so much more than that. You have no idea how the story will pan out, right until the end. It's such a clever and interesting plot. 

I'm a huge fan of Sinéad Moriarty's - and this is her best novel yet. 

And Sinéad kindly told me what inspired her to to write The Way We Were…

Back in the late 1980s Brian Keenan and John McCarthy, among others, were kidnapped and taken hostage in Beirut. They remained in captivity for over four years and when they were finally released the two men talked about this incredible friendship that had kept them sane. You could see the deep connection and love between them. To this day they are best friends and the bond between them remains. I was always fascinated by this.

John McCarthy and Jill Morrell’s love story also inspired me.  John McCarthy’s girlfriend, Jill,  campaigned tirelessly to get him released and then when he was released everyone presumed they’d end up together… But in fact they broke up and he married someone else.

I wanted to somehow write a book with the themes of friendship and lost love worked into the storyline and I wanted to explore the power of memory. I also wanted to look at how people change. What happens when the person you know so well is altered by life? When something happens to turn your life upside down and you have to change to survive, can you get back the way you were or are you permanently altered? Is a happy ending possible for these two characters…?

Sinéad with her brilliant 11th novel

Read The Way We Were now...