This unusual and gripping memoir is by a journalist and former barrister. Her father Michael Briggs was a scientist with a lot of mysteries in his career and personal life. Sometimes, he seemed to be a character from one of his favourite science fiction books. There are references in particular to Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man. Joanne Briggs recently investigated his life in more detail, after his name reappeared in the media about Primodos. This was a hormonal pregnancy test which has long been suspected of causing birth defects and miscarriages, but which has, even now, been rejected for compensation to the victims. Joanne’s father was implicated in this from back in the 60s and 70s, when he was in a position of authority in the company responsible for the drug.

Joanne, researching his career and in consultation with her brother, puts together various events and circumstances which were previously mysterious or insignificant, and creates a portrait of a man whose ambition was greater than his abilities as a research scientist. At first, some aspects of her father were merely confusing, or seemed a little dodgy. As we go further into the memoir, the details become alarming and even nefarious. He left the family when the children were young, not long after his wife was struck down with a rare illness. The children never really connected the dots, but now they are adults, they are almost certain that what happened to their mother was not natural. Some of the content is speculative, such as Joanne’s theory on what he was working on for the government when they moved back to Britain, and what his involvement was in East Germany.

What I found very interesting about the memoir was the attitude of Joanne and her brother towards their father. He died nearly 40 years ago and they don’t seem to be holding on to feelings of anger, nor do they seem very surprised by any new facts that come to light. They are trying to process his motivations. Joanne fills in the gaps between chapters of research by imagining scenes in his life, referring to him as Michael. Once I had got used to this, I thought it was an effective way of connecting more with his character. The book doesn’t have all the answers, which is I suppose one reason why it’s presented as a memoir, rather than a biography. We are still missing some of the puzzle pieces. Several times, Joanne mentions a TV documentary on Primodos which featured her father, but it’s locked in a vault and is not allowed to be viewed, so we don’t know what he said in it.

A recommended read. Thank you to the publisher Ithaka Press for the review copy.