Many thanks to Terry Tyler for this wonderful review:
http://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/silent-trauma-by-judith-barrow.html
SILENT TRAUMA by Judith Barrow
4.5 out of 5 stars
On Amazon.com HERE
On Amazon UK HERE
On Goodreads HERE
‘The story is fictional, the drug was real’
Judith Barrow wrote this book to bring attention to the trauma sufferered by the victims of the drug Diethylstilboestrol (DES), given to women between the years 1949 and 1971. It was prescribed to prevent miscarriage, but had a devastating effect on the daughters – and possibly the granddaughters – of the women who took it, meaning that they had miscarriages, too, cancers of the reproductive organs usually associated with older women, and other problems to do with that part of the body. Unlike with Thalidomide there has been very little publicity about it, and the women who campaigned for what they had been through and why to be recognised, faced many brick walls.
I think writing a novel about it is such a good way of letting people know about the ongoing tragedy; I would not read an article about it, but I read this. Silent Trauma follows the lives of four women affected by the drug, and the friendship that forms between them: Meg, whose daughter Lisa took her own life; Rachel, whose husband left her because of the change in their marriage due to her depression caused by several miscarriages; Avril, a recluse whose life was shattered by cancer in her teens; and Jackie, caught in a difficult and violent relationship with a woman, herself a product of a difficult upbringing.
Aside from the main purpose of the book, I enjoyed reading about the four women very much; it’s a well written, well planned story. The characterisation is terrific, and the situations so real. I’ve read Judith Barrow’s nostalgia orientated, warts and all family sagas set in the north of England during the 40s, 50s and 60s, but actually liked this more. I read it in one sitting. Speaking as one who has never had the urge to have children I cannot imagine how it must feel to want them so badly that you feel like less than a woman if you can’t reproduce, but all the emotions were painted so vividly that I felt everything the characters went through, and the situations were met with great understanding and sensitivity.
Jolly well done 🙂
4.5 – 4.9 stars, 4.5 stars, conspiracy, contemporary drama, Judith Barrow, medical drama,Silent Trauma, Terry Tyler Book Reviews
Judith Barrow 
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Excellent review for what sounds like an important book 🙂
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So many thanks. It is an issue ignored by many UK governments. Doubt it will raise above the bar now after all that’s happened here over the last fortnight. But really appreciate you dropping by. Jx
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Congrats on a fabulous review from Terry, My goodness Judith, this is another of your books I’m waiting to sink my teeth into. It’s been on my kindle waiting patiently. 🙂 xo
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Thanks Debbie, I’m over the moon with Terry’s review. This is my only Indie book. I couldn’t get a publisher to touch it in case they were sued. My thoughts are if any drug company tried to sue they’d be admitting culpability. So I put the house in husband, David’s name and Indie published. Haven’t a penny to my name!! Jx
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Wow Judith. You are such a powerhouse to publish with that thought looming. And I know the fears. When I published my memoir, I was petrified (and still am) that someone in that book would come after me, so I kept the chapter as vague and short as I could, even though that chapter of my life should have been a book itself. Changing names and professions and locations still scared me, because if he ever read it, the timing in my life in that period would indicate to him that it was him. I worried for so long, but couldn’t bring myself to totally omit it. So I took out media liability insurance, lol. 🙂
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I did wonder about that part, Deb, I’m almost at the end of Words WE Carry. I do need to say a lot of it has resonated. Thank you! Jx
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Thank you so much, Christoph.Jx
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Fantastic review and a book that more than deserved to be written. One courageous and excellent writer and a fantastic reviewer. Great combination. Congratulations to Judith and thanks Terry for the reminder.
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Thank you, Olga.Jx
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