Layla's Story (Vanessa Gorman)

This memoir is about the breakdown of a relationship, and the loss of a child - not an uplifting read, but an interesting one, especially seeing the dissection of a relationship breakdown, and of grief.

Vanessa's daughter Layla dies a few hours after birth. She has a troubled relationship with her partner, Layla's father. Layla doesn't die until at least half way through this book, so we have an intimate knowledge of their relationship (very intimate, if you know what I mean). The book examines, almost equally, the deep wanting of a child, the breakdown of a relationship when both partners want different things, and the grief of losing a child.

Gorman makes the point that losing a child right after birth is somehow considered a lesser death - she recounts people saying things like, "Well, at least you didn't get to know her," - and one of her aims in writing the book is to counter that rather wide-spread belief.

It's a book I found uncomfortable in places, partly because of its very raw and wide-open nature, but it is wonderfully written, and a fascinating insight into someone else's life. Four out of five.