In Whisper My Secret, J B tells her mother's true story, the story of Myrtle's secret, which only comes to light after her death when her daughters find papers hidden in an old cash tin. Growing up in Albury, NSW during the 1930s and 1940s Myrtle is a victim of a time when women were often powerless and appearances meant everything. Secrets lurked behind the veneer of respectable society. As a teenager Myrtle despises this hypocrisy and fails to appreciate the dangers of flaunting honesty. After falling pregnant to the boy next door she is trapped into a loveless marriage dominated by her mother-in-law. She tries to make the most of her situation but eventually falls victim to false accusations with tragic consequences. Ironically she is shamed into secrecy.

How does a mother cope when she is forced to walk away from her three children and never see them again? That is what happened to JB’s mother, Myrtle. Eventually, rescued from her despair by tall, dark and handsome George Rowley who fell in love her, Myrtle started a new life and had seven more children. She buried the grief of losing her first children deep within and kept her pain secret. JB and her siblings were unaware of the existence of Myrtle’s first three children until after she died. Desperate to know how such a thing could happen to a devoted and caring mother, JB went on a journey to find out. What she discovered was a heartbreaking story of loss. It was a long time before JB was able to work out that her mother kept her early life and her first family secret out of misplaced guilt and shame. To redress that, JB decided to tell the whole world her mother’s secret. Whisper My Secret is a proud declaration that Myrtle did nothing deserving of guilt or shame.

Book length is approximately 57 000 words.

This is the Genuine Article Set By Cynthia Rowley.