REVIEW: Me and My Sisters by Sinéad Moriarty

In Me and My Sisters by Sinéad Moriarty, Stay-at-home mums Julie and Sophie are sisters with very different lifestyles. Julie has triplet boys age four-and-a-half and another one-and-a-half year old boy who run her frantic day after day. And she and her loving husband Harry are constantly struggling to make ends meet on his salary. But Sophie, mum to four-year-old Jessica, lives the high life with her wealthy hedge-fund manager husband Jack, taking luxurious vacations and sipping champagne with her socialite friends.

Sophie looks around. “Who would have thought this time last year that all of our lives would change so dramatically? …How did this happen?”
“Life throws you a curve ball when you least expect it,” Louise mused.
“It stabs you in the heart,” I muttered.
“It pulls the rug from under your feet,” Sophie agreed.

Julie and Sophie’s older sister Louise, on the other hand, is a successful lawyer who has finally made senior partner after twenty years with the firm. Who knew one bad decision was going to change her life forever, though? As Louise struggles in her personal life and the effect it has on her career, Sophie and Julie face their own challenges. It will take the strength of the three sisters combined to make it through the year without tearing out their hair or giving up when they feel like they’ve hit a wall emotionally.

‘The other thing I’ve learnt over the last year is how important family is. I wouldn’t have got through it without my sisters. …The three of us have overcome big obstacles this year and have survived, bruised and battered, but the better for it.’

Me and My Sisters was an in-depth look at three sisters as they each struggled to fight their way through a year of monumental changes and life-altering decisions. We in turn got to see the good, the bad, and the comical through all three unique points of view.

I really loved the format of this book as well as the realistic way the sisterhood bond was described. The chapters alternated between Julie, Louise, and Sophie’s personal journey which included how they felt not only about their own situation but also how they thought their sisters were handling their lives. I thought author Sinéad Moriarty showed things in a believable light, with the three women being at odds sometimes and lending a helping hand other times. It’s a complicated thing, for sure, being a sister. But especially so where they were quite close in age. (Louise was 47, Julie 39, Sophie 37)

While I liked all three sisters, I connected most with Julie, who was sort of the main character overall. And I’m not even a mom! (Well, I’m a petmom, but still…) There was something so inherently likable about how self-deprecating she was and how honestly she talked about feeling invisible in her household. The conversations Julie had with her kids just cracked me up and I could feel her frustration about wanting to get ten minutes to herself to think, let alone spend quality time with her lovely husband Harry. Plus the scenes with her neighbor Marian coming over to visit were absolutely hysterical. Loved her!

I had to applaud Louise for being so driven in her career but I have to say she was pretty demanding and opinionated with everyone, including her family. Her independence had caused a rift between herself and her mum which was understandable considering that her mum wanted to run everyone’s lives. So it was kind of satisfying to see Louise having to become less regimented as her life changed in a big way and to see her open up to her feelings and be more open about things.

It took some time for me to warm up to Sophie. She started off as a socialite-slash-trophy-wife and although she didn’t look down at her sisters, she took a lot in her life for granted. I did love her relationship with her daughter Jess and thought she truly loved her deeply. Although she learned that teaching Jess that diamonds and money were more important than anything else wasn’t so smart when her life changed completely. Who Sophie became afterwards was someone I could empathize with and I loved her metamorphosis.

My only point of contention wasn’t any fault of the book, but rather a character that rubbed me the wrong way. I took an instant disliking to their mother. The way she criticized Louise and Julie, but doted on Sophie and their younger brother Gavin, might have been realistic for some families but it drove me to distraction a few times and I wanted to set her straight. LOL!

Down-to-earth and absolutely charming, Me and My Sisters was a wonderful piece of women’s fiction. And bear in mind there is a sequel (which I very much intend to read!) The Secrets Sisters Keep. If it’s anywhere near as engaging as this book was, it will definitely be a keeper.

Book Info:

Publication: May 19, 2016 (first published August 4th, 2011) | Bookouture |

Sinead Moriarty’s heart-warming seventh novel, Me and My Sisters, is the story of how three sisters discover that when the chips are down, no-one will be there for you in quite the same way as a sister who knows you better than you know yourself. It mixes the worldly wit of Jane Green with the down-to-earth insight of Marian Keyes in a story that will have readers thinking again about just how important their sisters are to them. Or wishing they had sisters if they don’t.

There’s more than one way of being a modern woman, not that the Devlin sisters would admit it …

Harassed mum Julie used to be the easy-going one, but now she is struggling to keep sane. She needs support, but how could her sisters understand? After all, their lives are perfect.

One drunken mistake is jeopardising everything lawyer Louise has worked so hard for. For a control freak like her, being out of control is terrifying. Despite herself, she too needs her sisters.

And gorgeous Sophie’s perfect designer lifestyle is falling apart at the seams. She can hardly bring herself to tell the other two the trouble she’s in.

The Devlin sisters think they have little in common. They might just be in for some big surprises …

Sinead Moriarty’s novels have sold over half a million copies in Ireland and the UK and she is a four times nominee for the popular fiction Irish Book Award. She has won over readers and critics telling stories that are funny, humane, moving and relevant to modern women. Me and My Sisters is Sinead at her very best.

Sinead Moriarty lives with her family in Dublin. Her other titles are: The Baby Trail; A Perfect Match; From Here to Maternity; In My Sister’s Shoes; Keeping It In the Family (also titled: Whose Life is it Anyway?); Pieces of My Heart and This Child of Mine.