Molly: Child Number 583

I've just finished reading this enthralling book, _Molly, Child Number 583_ . I have to say once I began reading, I could not put it down. To read about the author's years in the care of the nuns in what is euphemistically termed "homes" was heart-breaking. I recalled passing places like that as a child and wondering what spooky mysterious things were in the great grey stone building behind the locked iron gates where the nuns lived.The author's intelligence, independence and strength of character are amazing. The book is not only a fascinating insight into the life of the nuns and the convents but a great story of courage and of heart. With persistence and intelligence she succeeded in her goal and succeeded in making a happy and successful life for herself.

Readers of popular Angela's Ashes will love Molly, Child #583 by Mary Keenan, a member of the Canadian Author's Assoc., Toronto chapter. What a special book: its sad yet happy story introduces us to a young woman who survives her rocky start and thrives in rought times. Poignant memories come to life as we meet frightened little Molly, share her cold childhood in a Maritime orphanage and witness her rude awakening to adulthood.Abandonned to a cruel fate that she did not deserve, Molly learned to nurture herself, develop her resilience and fill her empty heart with warm thoughts. She kept searching for her mother and wanting to hear the truth about her family. This book glows with the light of hope. It resonates with deep feelings inside those of us who ache for happy times that might have been. Like Molly, we all hope to reconcile with our families of origin and understand how we came to be the people we are.I didn't expect a memoir to be so suspenseful: this hard-to-put-down book deserves to be well read. It speaks eloquently about life's bittersweet experiences, heartbreaks and love. Woven throughout this uplifting story are practical guides for trusting ourselves, finding true happiness and learning about biological parents. Marvellous to cope so gracefully and write so well; contratulations Mary!