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JB Rowley is an award winning Australian author who lives in Melbourne, Australia.
She grew up in a small town called Orbost at the mouth of the famous Snowy River in the state of Victoria. She spent her childhood chasing snakes and lizards down hollow logs, playing Hansel and Gretel in the bush with her brothers, climbing trees, searching the local rubbish tip for books to read and generally behaving like a feral child.
Stories have always been significant in JB’s life. As a child, she listened to stories on the radio and read many books, usually curled up in the hay shed to escape her brothers. Early influences were Enid Blyton and Charles Dickens.
Reviewed by Jessyca Garcia for Readers' Favorite
I enjoyed reading Whisper My Secret: A Memoir by JB Rowley. This story is about Rowley’s mother, Myrtle. Myrtle lived a hard life. Rowley only discovered how hard a life Myrtle had after she died. She also discovered that Myrtle had three other children that no one knew about. Rowley decided to tell Myrtle’s unheard story in this book.
I was drawn to Whisper My Secret: A Memoir because I had just lost my mother and was left with a lot of unanswered questions about her past. I felt a connection to Rowley and was inspired by how she discovered her mother’s past. I understand that not everything in this story is totally accurate, but it still captivated my attention. I started off wanting to hate Myrtle for abandoning her children. By the end, I understood why she did it and I probably would have done the same thing in her situation. At that time women were expected to behave a certain way or be shunned by society.
I am happy that Myrtle finally found a little happiness in her life with George, but I know she always had a shadow of sadness hanging over her. George sort of reminded me of my stepfather in the way that he loved Myrtle. I was a little sad when I finished this book. I still wanted to know more about Myrtle and her children. I also want to know what the children that she gave up think. I am glad that Rowley has written another book to answer some of my questions. I cannot wait to read it!
