2024 the best kindle unlimited books review

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'Wow! What a heartbreaking, breathtaking true story... oh my heart... Read it with tissues but an open heart' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I'm not sure how many times I had to set this book down because my crying eyes were useless for reading, but it was a lot... Ten very emotional stars! All the stars!' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'There are no words! I had a hard time putting this book down. I am blown away by this true story... Soooooooo wonderful!' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

1939. Seventeen-year-old Nora Jennings has spent her life secure in the certainty of a bright, happy future - until one night of passion has more catastrophic consequences than she ever could have anticipated. Labelled a moral defective and sectioned under the Mental Deficiency Act, she is forced to endure years of unspeakable cruelty at the hands of those who are supposed to care for her.

1981. When psychiatrist Janet Humphreys comes across Nora, heavily institutionalised and still living in the hospital more than forty years after her incarceration, she knows that she must be the one to help Nora rediscover what it is to live. But as she works to help Nora overcome her past, Janet realises she must finally face her own.

Based on a true story, this is a powerful novel of the strength of the human spirit, that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. Perfect for fans of The Girl in the Letter and Philomena.

Readers love The Girl Behind The Gates:

'I have never been so emotionally touched by a book before and Nora you will stay in my heart long after finishing this story' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Wow is all I can say. This book is a tearjerker for sure. To know that it is based on a true story is even more heartbreaking... This is a beautiful story of healing... The characters are wonderful' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'It's been a very long time since I read a book that I couldn't put down. This was that book... I was hooked from the off... Would I recommend this book? A hundred times over' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'A heartbreakingly emotional story with characters that grip you all through this book. I really felt for Nora and her life... Brilliant' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Beautifully and emotionally written it engages you from beginning to end. This is one if the best books I have read... The book everyone must read. It will stay with you forever' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'This book was SO good... This was a beautiful, heartwarming story of a woman who was once lost, but found again' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'What an amazing story based in truth. I can't believe things like this actually happened. This is the incredible story of how a woman overcame the most astonishing obstacles' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Praise for The Girl Behind The Gates:

'Compelling. Poignant... Heart wrenching. Just beautiful. Everyone needs to read this wonderful book' Renita D'Silva

'A haunting, heart-wrenching but ultimately heart-warming novel' Gill Thompson

'A powerful, emotional novel. I was moved to tears by the ending and will certainly not hesitate to recommend it' Jill Childs

'A powerful story of trust, compassion, healing - and the transforming power of love, that can give new life to a broken spirit' Sharon Maas

From the Publisher

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0847KDV8W
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hodder & Stoughton (May 28, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 28, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2345 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 291 pages
Reviewer: Psy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Beautiful, heartbreaking, and triumphant
Review: Many things in this book hit very close to home for me albeit in a much different way but my heart ached for Nora so deeply and then swelled with so much gratitude that after so many years of suffering she was found by a doctor who truly cared for her, listened to her, and actively helped her. For so many people that's a hope which becomes a fantasy until they no longer have the will to even dare dream and it gives way to numbness and despair. What happened to Nora, and to so many other people in the early 20th century, never should have happened and though I'm not unfamiliar with what the practices were back then this story felt so personal and intimate that it allowed me to see it with new eyes. This was so beautifully and compassionately written I can't help but applaud the author. Definitely something I would recommend again and again.

Reviewer: Pat B.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Beautifully written and insightful.
Review: I enjoyed this from the first page to the last. It pulls the reader into a time most of us never knew existed, to a beautiful ending.

Reviewer: becca
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: girl behind the gate
Review: A great read. I truly enjoyed the book. The struggle to survive and the beauty to see Nora blossom in the end.

Reviewer: cindy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Fascinating
Review: I find myself thinking about this book months after finishing. It's heartbreaking. Her story is so riveting. It's interesting how her situation snowballed into an institutionalized life. She survived and finally triumphed in the end. Highly recommend!

Reviewer: M D Collucci
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A fantastic story
Review: Wow. I am so moved by this book. What a beautiful and heart breaking story that speaks to the resiliency of the human spirit.A lot of questions came to mind as I read. Like, who is our family? Is it the people who share our DNA yet can't be bothered to even ask how we're doing? Or is it the people who offer us their hand to help us navigate through the darkest of times, when we need a friend?This book highlights all the issues surrounding mental health and the stigma that is often associated with its diagnosis and treatment. It also showed that not everyone "treating" someone with mental health problems can be trusted.My older sister who I loved dearly struggled for years with mental health problems and took her life a few years ago. This book helped me understand her better, and to wish so vey much that I had read it before Lynne felt that she had no other options

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Provocative yet captivating story
Review: Hard to read at times, but found myself unable to stop reading and put the book down. I don't want to give away too much. But this story is absolutely gripping. The hardships and horror endured, the threat of a life lost and wasted away, yet the triumph of the spirit and soul. I found myself cheering for this girl/lady to never give up. Keep fighting. Makes you reflect on your own life, journey, and how you handle challenges. Acknowledging with gratitude at how lucky you may truly be.

Reviewer: DV
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Best Book I'VE Read In a Long Time!
Review: I have already sent a copy of this wonderful, inspiring book to my two older sisters. This book is both sad and intriguing. It tells a story with tenderness and grace. It had me captivated from the very first page. I couldn't put it down.

Reviewer: EMK
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Heart wrenching but inspiring story well told
Review: A very beautiful writing style intertwined with a difficult story. I mostly loved the book, there were some odd transitions in the early part of the book with the shift from the primary story to the connections between that and the author's secondary one, but ultimately, it came together well enough to forgive it.

Reviewer: Lynn Moore
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The story of Nora has wrenched my heart, brought me to tears, horrified me, angered me, and yet, by its end, found me hopeful, inspired, believing in miracles and renewed faith in humanity.Based on a true story, Nora's life travels a long, tortuous road beginning in 1939 when, at the age of seventeen, she finds herself pregnant, unwed and refusing to name the father of her child. An intolerable, shameful situation in which secrecy is paramount. Nora's father, a strict disciplinarian, is enraged. He gathers together a group of men: a family doctor, a clergyman and the head doctor of Hillinghurst, a hospital for the mentally ill, to decide her fate.Following an examination and questioning by the family doctor, Nora's parents are informed that she is indeed pregnant, tried to end the pregnancy with quinine pills and failing that, tried to cut her wrist with scissors. The choices are prison, attempting an abortion and attempting suicide are against the law, or be sent to the mental hospital under the category of Moral Defective. Under the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913, this category of mentally disabled persons are made up of criminals, alcoholics, prostitutes and unmarried mothers. Her father, at the plaintive urging of her mother, chooses not to send her to prison, but does sign her into the mental hospital.Thus begins Nora's haunting, poignant journeyI must admit I bristle whenever I read or watch stories of society's betrayal of its women throughout the ages. Maybe not as overtly in the developed world of the modern day, but it still goes on. In some countries the only name for it is 'barbaric'. While reading the first half of this novel every one of my bristles was on end and quivering with indignation.The first and masterful half of this book takes place in this institution. Although perfectly sane, Nora endures the primitive treatments of the day, that would now be labelled torturous and cruel. The writing is excellent and this author knows how to develop every emotion to its zenith. I couldn't put it down.Over forty years pass, it is 1981 and Nora is still incarcerated at Hillinghurst. Psychiatrist Janet Humphreys makes a special connection with Nora and vows to help her learn how to live again. This is the second half of the novel is just as intriguing as the first. Secrets are revealed, progress is a few steps forward and a few back as these two women form their unique bond, discovering they are helping to heal each other.This story will remain with me for a long time, I'm sure.

Reviewer: Mrs. Dorothy Strong
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I read a lot of books and never review but feel strongly compelled to review this one. This story brought me to tears several times during its beautifully written telling. How we, as a so called civilised nation, used to treat people so badly blows my mind. Nora, the lady who this book is about, is totally amazing i the way she survived the relentless abuse at the hands of so called nurses. The book does not say if the perpetrators of the abuse were ever held to account, but i so hope they have been. Fabulous, heartbreaking read.

Reviewer: HM Holten
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The Girl Behind the Gates points to the fear of mental difficulties and what was deemed moral deficiency that affected everybody and often sent unwed and pregnant women to mental institutions. The law was clear and stayed unchanged until 1959. The perspective is shocking, and, in my opinion, it is important to remember that this happened less than seventy years ago.Nora Jennings is a seventeen-year-old who gets to feel the consequences of a single night of passion. Labelled as morally defective and incarcerated in the local mental hospital, she lives through years of brutal conditions.Sister Cummings, a proverbial Nurse Ratched (of Cuckoo’s Nest fame), is the nemesis who knows how to make her patients, especially the young and hopeful, suffer.Janet Humphreys is a psychiatrist that arrives on the scene much later, but her insight and humanity bring hope to some patients.The blend of traumatic experiences, imperious nurses, horrifying treatments, and evolving friendships blend in a compelling document that will leave the reader pondering how easy it is to destroy the human spirit. Yet, Ms Davies manages to convey hope – even for institutionalised individuals.For me, the highlight was the deft use of the healing power of music. This is a book that will stay with you and make you think.

Reviewer: Alice C
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is an incredibly sad book. I had to keep reading it just hoping things would get better, and eventually they did, in the end. The events were so hard to believe that I had to do my own research on the internet to verify that pregnant unwed mothear were really locked up in mental institutions in the U.K. in the 1940's. Yes they were, under the policies of Winston Churchill! Generally these were poor women who came into the system through the workhouses. One would think that a well off, "loving" family would find a way around this such as keeping the pregnancy hidden and arranging a private adoption. However there is a doozy of a plot twist near the end of the book that makes the parents horrifying behaviour more plausible (without blaming the victim at all). It's a well written book and worth knowing the truth about an aspect of the history of women's rights that has been swept under the rug, as nobody's life should ever be.

Reviewer: Kezza
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Well, the first thing that made me get the book was the cover picture. The building is of a Asylum in Leeds which I explored in 2008 and fell in love with! So, I got the book a month ago roughly and only picked it up 2 days ago! Today I finished the book, I was gripped. I was picturing the poor girl in the building I walked round, the wards, the outbuildings, the lovely entrance. I got in to her shoes really. Saw what she saw. It was an absolutely brilliant book and loved every single page! Sad, funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, had everything. Definitely worth buying and will no doubt read again!