When I First Held You
When I First Held You by Anstey Harris is a poignant novel published by Amazon Publishing in 2023, featuring 316 pages in English. Set against the backdrop of 1960s Glasgow, the story follows Judith and Jimmy, two anti-nuclear activists whose love is tested when their lives take a tragic turn. After a protest raid leads to Jimmy’s imprisonment, Judith is left to navigate her grief and the challenges of motherhood alone, ultimately giving up their baby and entering an unmarried mothers’ home.
The narrative unfolds more than fifty years later, as Judith runs a Mending Shop, symbolizing her journey of healing. The arrival of Jimmy, who seeks to reconnect and share their fragmented past, disrupts her newfound peace. As they confront the silence that separated them, readers will explore themes of family life and the complexities of relationships. This edition invites readers to reflect on the power of truth and the possibility of mending broken bonds.
Official synopsis Publisher
Silence tore them apart. Can the truth bring them back together?
“Marvellous” –Lesley Pearse
“A hauntingly beautiful novel” –Imogen Clark
“Gripping, heart rending and extremely satisfying” –Katie Fforde
In 1960s Glasgow, anti-nuclear activists Judith and Jimmy fall in love. But their future hopes are dashed when their protestors’ squat is raided and many, including Jimmy, are sent to prison. Pregnant and with no word from Jimmy, Judith is forced to enter an unmarried mothers’ home, give up their baby and learn to live with her grief.
More than half a century later, Judith’s Mending Shop restores broken treasures, just as Judith herself has been bound back together by her late, much-missed partner, Catherine. But her tranquillity is shattered when Jimmy–so different and yet somehow the same–reappears, yearning to unpick the painful past.
Realising they each know only half of the other’s story, Jimmy and Judith finally break the silence that tore apart what might have been their family. Amid heartbreak and hope, how much can now be mended?
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