The Mother I Could Have Been
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The Mother I Could Have Been Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Kerry Fisher (Author), Emma Spurgin Hussey (Narrator), Audible Studios (Publisher)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,003 ratings
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Why would you walk away from the one person you can’t live without?

As a child, Vicky Hall never had the sort of family she wanted. The least important person in her new step-family, ignored by her mother in favour of her two younger half siblings, Vicky was always an afterthought. Sitting alone at her graduation ceremony at the age of 21, she vows to create her own family and her own life, one which is full of the love and attention she has always craved.

When Vicky meets William and falls pregnant in Greece that summer, it isn’t planned. But the two of them believe they can make it work, showering their child with the love which they believe should be enough.

But when her son Theo is two, Vicky leaves him in the care of her mother-in-law, walks out of her front door and drives to a hotel where she takes a room for the night. She doesn’t return.

It’s unthinkable.

What kind of mother does that?

The kind who is hiding a story you can never imagine.

The Mother I Could Have Been is a heartbreaking story of impossible decisions and second chances, from the best-selling author of The Silent Wife and The Woman I Was Before. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty and Diane Chamberlain.

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  1. Listening Length
    8 hours and 3 minutes
  2. Author
    Kerry Fisher
  3. Narrator
    Emma Spurgin Hussey
  4. Audible release date
    November 22, 2019
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Audible Studios
  7. ASIN
    B081K8V4Z9
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 8 hours and 3 minutes
Author Kerry Fisher
Narrator Emma Spurgin Hussey
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date November 22, 2019
Publisher Audible Studios
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B081K8V4Z9
Best Sellers Rank #5,217 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#265 in Literary Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#281 in Women's Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#1,390 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
2,003 global ratings
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5 Stars
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Great read. I'm in love with this authors style. Highly recommend!
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Top reviews from the United States

ricky
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant read!
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2021
Verified Purchase
I was attracted to this book because of the title. My three year old son is difficult and I have been struggling as a mother and emotionally breaking down and feeling like it’s never enough and it’s just too hard and I don’t want to do this anymore. I love him and I thought I always wanted to be a mother but now that I am I feel like maybe I was wrong and maybe I have made a big mistake and maybe I’m not quite cut out for Motherhood like some Moms. Well thanks to this book, I have turned my thinking around, and I realize that what I do is enough and just don’t leave and don’t walk away because the consequences would be soul crushing. This book gave a great example of what that would look like with the main character, Vicky, who walked out on her stressful family dynamic and her two and a half year old son, Theo, in thinking she was an inadequate Mom and maybe everyone, including her own son, would be better off with out her. The consequences crushed her soul of course but she was afraid to get back in touch and back into his life. Fortunately, circumstances afforded her the opportunity to be his mother again, but then she had to work to rebuild her son’s trust and prove to him she would never leave him ever again. I decided to just stick it out with mine, and have been making little efforts to show him patience and love and in watching the love between us you’d think you were watching a Hallmark movie because our relationship has really improved; because of this book! Thank you Kerry Fisher it was beautiful and brilliant. I had tears in my eyes when it ended, actually all through out! Thanks,
Lots of love from an insecure and inexperienced Mom, who’s learning, from Arkansas. Sara S.
29 people found this helpful
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Madime39
4.0 out of 5 stars Wow
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2020
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What a powerful story! I could relate to so many aspects of this book. If you have a difficult mother/daughter relationship, as the mother OR the daughter, or both, you have got to read this book!
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Lizzo
5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn’t put it down
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2023
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I read this in two days despite having a busy life!! It is a page turner. It resonated with me so deeply. She doesn’t sugar coat family estrangement or put a pretty bow on it, which was deeply refreshing. It made me feel less alone about my own situation.
One person found this helpful
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Mel
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting bbooky
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2021
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This book was good except that I didn’t like the ending. I thought Carol’s life was much easier considering all the support she had than Vicky, but I didn’t particularly like Vicky’s character. When her life was hard she runs, but it was so easy for her to be positive and optimistic when life was going her way. Anybody can be positive when their lives are going their way, but try being that way when it’s tough. Fergus’ character kind of annoyed me because he complained about his sister acting immature when he was throwing fits just to get his way his entire life. Moral of the story for me was: When the going gets tough, run away from your problems and in the end it all goes your way and your life turns out great even if it’s at someone else’s expense.
One person found this helpful
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Corrine's Courage
5.0 out of 5 stars Hit close to home/ spoiler
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2023
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This book about family dynamics, especially mother/child dives deep into all aspects of family members perspectives on their own family dynamics. Fisher hits on everyone's perspective reminding me that there are always many views into the windows of family events.

Possible spoiler:

I recently lost my own mother to pancreatic cancer, a quick yet long 4 months from diagnosis to passing away. During that time my siblings and I spoke about our roles in our family and shared our memories, especially about his relationship with our mom. I was amazed that we all had the same mother, because each of us 5 children had a different mother based on our experiences. And yet there were times when we realized when we thought we were the only ones that felt certain ways, we weren't alone in those feelings. I miss my mother daily and this book but really close to home. And it was therapeutic to read. Through fishers writing I have been able to come to terms to many things that I can't really explain in a review. But if you see this Kerry, thank you for this book.
3 people found this helpful
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joshua asher
4.0 out of 5 stars Didn’t sympathize with the main character
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2022
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Overall, I enjoyed the book. However, I found it difficult to sympathize with the main character. Often, her decisions, or rather say, lack of decisions about coming back and making amends with her families seemed far-fetched and shallow, selfish even. I realize it was necessary for the plot, but couldn’t help but think she could’ve done a better job dismantling some walls instead of burning bridges.
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C. J.
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2024
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Read in one sitting. Will think about this for days. Thank you K. Fisher for exposing feelings many of us have
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant story telling
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2019
Verified Purchase
I loved this book and read it in two days. I really liked the way parallels were drawn between the two main families on the theme of motherhood and loss. Vicky feels pushed out when her mum remarried and has two more children. She suddenly feels bottom of the heap and takes herself off to Corfu after she graduates. Slowly, she loses contact with her family until it feels like too much time has gone by to make things right. Caro has a tricky relationship with her own daughter which leads to an estrangement between them. The story moves along at just the right pace, and partway through the book Vicky goes to work for Caro but I don't want to give spoilers about what else happens. It's a very satisfying read, it doesn't have all the answers so it's true to real life. I really enjoyed it, Kerry Fisher is a great writer.
9 people found this helpful
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Nicolette K
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this story so much
Reviewed in Australia on November 28, 2019
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I adored this book. Never mind the Family , work and housework I had this plugged into my ears and finished in 24hours. I love this author so much I have binged in all her books. Her style is witty, her characters are real. The story lines are so intriguing you absolutely need to know what happens next. I also love the audible reader. She doesn’t try and act out all the characters in search of an Oscar. She doesn’t suddenly scream out like so many of the others do trying to be dramatic. The words are enough, her reading is perfect.
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Bookreader
4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 11, 2022
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Although at times the writing seemed to drift waywardly, overall it was a good read with a lovely ending.
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Karen
3.0 out of 5 stars Slow start leads to a strong finish
Reviewed in Canada on December 28, 2020
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The story got off to a slow start and was disjointed to the point of distraction. Things started to pick up considerably around the mid-point of the story, making for an enjoyable read through to the end.
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Janine K
4.0 out of 5 stars Tangled Lives
Reviewed in Australia on December 9, 2019
Verified Purchase
Oh what a tangled web one weaves! This is the story of mothers and daughters and Lost opportunities! The story of Vicki and Caro. Vicki is only young when she escapes to Greece leaving behind her mother, step father and step siblings. There she meets a gorgeous boy, falls in love and becomes pregnant. They return to England and she moves in with his family. Meanwhile Caro has a falling out with her daughter who threatens to never see her again. This was a very enjoyable read by Kerry Fisher and this is the third book of hers I have read - all good reads! This would appeal to readers of family stories and women’s fiction.
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