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The Lost Child of Philomena Lee
The Lost Child of Philomena Lee: A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search | Martin Sixsmith
14 posts | 12 read | 16 to read
When she fell pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, Philomena Lee was sent to the convent at Roscrea in Co. Tipperary to be looked after as a fallen woman. She cared for her baby for three years until the Church took him from her and sold him, like countless others, to America for adoption. Coerced into signing a document promising never to attempt to see her child again, she nonetheless spent the next fifty years secretly searching for him, unaware that he was searching for her from across the Atlantic. Philomena's son, renamed Michael Hess, grew up to be a top Washington lawyer and a leading Republican official in the Reagan and Bush administrations. But he was a gay man in a homophobic party where he had to conceal not only his sexuality but, eventually, the fact that he had AIDs. With little time left, he returned to Ireland and the convent where he was born: his desperate quest to find his mother before he died left a legacy that was to unfold with unexpected consequences for all involved. The Lost Child of Philomena Lee is the tale of a mother and a son whose lives were scarred by the forces of hypocrisy on both sides of the Atlantic and of the secrets they were forced to keep. A compelling narrative of human love and loss, Martin Sixsmith's moving account is both heartbreaking yet ultimately redemptive.
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Wife
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Pickpick

More about Philomena‘s son than her. I wanted to know more about her life and her search for the child that was essentially stolen from her. I saw the movie years ago, and from what I can remember, I liked it better. This is letter “P” from my #AlphabetChallenge from my shelves. 3/5✈️s I‘m on to “R” since I read “Q” out of order.

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CaramelLunacy
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Pickpick

A sad and often times enraging story about Irish mother and baby homes, paid for adoptions and the Reagan administration's homophobia and response to the AIDS crisis.
Well-told, this focuses on the humanity and complexity of Michael Hess and his mother Philomena who spent their whole lives searching for one another.
Minor quibble at times the recreated dialogue sounds very British/Irish to be coming out of the mouths of Midwesterners.

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bio_chem06
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#Movie2BookRecs #judydench 12. I loved this movie so much that I didn‘t want to read the book, just in case it ruined the movie for me. But I think this story would hold its own, so I will go on a limb and say that the book is probably great.

Klou Fantastic!! 3y
6 likes1 comment
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TheSpineView
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Klou Oh my gosh. This synopsis gave me chills. Wow! Adding!! 4y
TheSpineView @Klou IKR!😨 4y
53 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Dragon
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#thejeangenie #Septembowie. I went searching my stacks for covers with pants 👖. I haven't read them but I loved the movie based on the tagged book.

Cinfhen Excellent movie 😍 7y
Dragon Thanks @Cinfhen I had a bit of an Irish theme in my prompts today. 🐉💚 7y
Cinfhen 😆 7y
Centique Wow this movie made me cry! 😭 7y
Dragon Thanks @Centique it was so good but so sad. I haven't been able to start the book yet. 7y
65 likes5 comments
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jenniferw88
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deirdrebeecher Be careful with philomena, the pictures in the centre give away a huge spoiler. I always flick through the photos first and was very disappointed they gave so much away. I would leave them till the end. 8y
75 likes1 comment
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Birdsong28
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Books88 This!!! Bawling. I was unprepared. 8y
2 likes1 comment
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Sparkin
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Mehso-so

So, is this fiction or non-fiction? Fairly intriguing. Preferred first section of book. Horrified by the way young women were treated by the #Catholic Church. Annoyed by a) the repetition of the phrase 'shoo-in' and b) what the weather was doing.

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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
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I've also just started watching this on Netflix. Very good start so far!!

DivineDiana Loved this! 8y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders @DivineDiana it's so good so far!! 8y
DebinHawaii The movie was so good--I should read the book. 📚👍 8y
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cathysaid The book is really good as well 📚 8y
Jinjer Loved the movie. Want to read the book. Wait! I sent that book to my mom didn't I??? {looks around the room} What did she do with it??🤔 8y
45 likes1 stack add6 comments
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SealedWithInk
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7 likes2 stack adds
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A.Bibliophiles.Book.Blog
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Panpan

This was honestly one of the most boring books I've ever read! It was so hard to get into and it actually never drew me in completely. It dragged on and felt like I was reading this book forever, the story is quite sad especially since it's a true story, I don't think the book did the story justice.

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emilyesears
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I didn't want to get too far ahead in the buddy read, so I switched to this read.

1 like1 stack add
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thesaurusrex
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My to-watch pile will soon rival my to-read pile if I keep getting gifts like this. Can't wait!

9 likes1 stack add