Minding Frankie

 Years ago I read books set in Ireland by Maeve Binchy. So I decided to listen to Minding Frankie. Frankie, in this case, is a newborn girl. Her mother, Stella, is a patient in an oncology ward in Dublin. Not only is she pregnant, she is also terminally ill. Stella knows that when they wheel her into the operating theater to give birth, she will die. A month before the birth Stella contacts Noel and asks him to visit her in the oncology ward. Noel and Stella had a brief relationship. When Stella says she is pregnant with his child he doesn't believe her at first. He is in no position to be the father of a newborn. He lives with his parents. He works. He drinks too much every day. With the help of his visiting American cousin, Emily, he gets his life together. Frankie is the person who helps Noel do better. I loved this lovely story about a community raising a child. In the story Frankie's social worker, Moira, is like several other social workers I have known and dealt with on my job. Some social workers love to solve problems even when problems do not exist. Moira is a nosy, judgmental social worker who is sure Frankie would be better off in the foster care system. Aside from Moira, I enjoyed the other characters in the book.