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A Family Matter

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A Family Matter

By: Claire Lynch
Narrated by: Miranda Raison
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A mother following her heart
A father with the law on his side
A child caught in the middle

It’s 2022, and Heron, an old man of quiet habits, has just had the sort of visit to the doctor that turns a life upside down. Sharing the diagnosis with Maggie, his only daughter, seems impossible. Heron just can’t find the words to tell her about it, or any of the other things he’s been protecting her from for so long.

It’s 1982, and Dawn is a young wife and mother penned in by the expectations of her time and place. Then Hazel comes into her life like a torch in the dark. It’s the kind of connection that’s impossible to resist, and suddenly Dawn’s world is more joyful, and more complicated, than she ever expected. But Dawn has responsibilities, she has commitments: Dawn has Maggie.

A Family Matter is an immersive and tender debut, at once heart-breaking and hopeful, that asks how we might heal from the wounds of the past, and what we might learn from them.

© Claire Lynch 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Family Life Genre Fiction LGBTQIA+ Creators Literature & Fiction Heartfelt Tear-jerking
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All stars
Most relevant
Beautifully read. Very moving. Reminder of how some things have changed for the better over my lifetime

Excellent

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Devastating, heartbreaking and infuriating. This story of prejudice towards lesbian mothers as recently as the 1990s is highly recommended

Grateful we live in more enlightened times

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This book is brutal, heartbreaking and very upsetting. Children being taken from their mothers unfairly is too unsetting for me. And some of the courtroom scenes were inhumane. Don’t get me wrong this is a great story and very well written (it will probably be up for the woman’s prize) but I won’t be rereading this

Upsetting

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This is a stunning book - so beautifully read and the writing is superb. It's subtly devastating and such an important story. Can't recommend this highly enough.

A must-listen!

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