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Helen and the Grandbees

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Helen and the Grandbees

By: Alex Morrall
Narrated by: Helen Day
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Forgetting your past is one thing, but living with your present is entirely different...

Twenty years ago, Helen is forced to give up her newborn baby, Lily. Now living alone in her small flat, there is a knock at the door and her bee, her Lily, is standing in front of her.

Reuniting means the world to them both, but Lily has questions. Lots of them. Questions that Helen is unwilling to answer. In turn Helen watches helplessly as her headstrong daughter launches from relationship to relationship, from kind Andrew, the father of her daughter, to violent Kingsley who fathers her son.

When it's clear her grandbees are in danger, tangled up in her daughter's damaging relationship, Helen must find the courage to step in, confronting the fears that haunt her the most.

Told in Helen's quirky voice Helen and the Grandbees addresses matters of identity, race and mental illness.

'Uplifting'—Daily Mail

'Breathtaking'—Awais Khan

©2020 Legend Press (P)2026 Marston Editions Family Life Genre Fiction
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Listener received this title free

I was gifted a copy of this book and I didn't quite know what it would be about. It was beautiful. Such a gentle and kind exploration of trauma and how it impacts generations. Such a loving and forgiving handling of Helen, who is broken and hurt and so so strong, and a mother above all.

I like the narration.

Beautiful and gentle

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Listener received this title free

At first, I thought this would be a slow burn beginning. But it blossoms into such a beautiful flower of a story. It shows how trauma and pain can cause secrets (which has consequences of this own) and how it affects our mental health. Helen experiences trauma as a young girl and ends having a baby who was removed. And Helen has never recovered from this. When Helen's grown up child finds her, their relationship is tenuous, but somehow grows. Helen calls her daughter and grandchildren "bees".
The fear and anxiety Helen has overwhelmes her. And sometimes secrets becomes a stumbling block in her relationship with her daughter. Thankfully she learns to trust a small few who become family to her. The ending, while is tidy, is so satisfying. I cried because it gave me hope that maybe not all is lost when life has been unkind. The author takes care in developing her characters and keeps them real and likeable -even when they're broken. You really care for them and what happens as each layer is pried away.
As a debut story, I'm surprised because it feels like this book was written by a well-honed author. I hope this author continues to write more books.
The narrator did a beautiful job in taking on each character and their insecurities -without sounding whiny or overacted.
I received this audiobook from the author and I'm voluntarily giving my honest review. This story will stay with you for a while. I completely recommend this book. Well done to both the author and narrator.

Touchingly beautiful

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