Chapter 25: “It takes so much work to find them” – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Dawn spots an advertisement in a Sunday newspaper and, despite fearing it might be a trap, sends off for a magazine. The reply arrives a week later. Inside the magazine’s classifieds she finds a phone number and calls from a public telephone box. A woman tells her about the Arena Bookshop, where a group meets on Thursday evenings. Dawn writes down the details but hesitates to act.

In the meantime, Heron increases pressure on Dawn, insisting that she cut back time with their daughter, Maggie. He argues that seeing Dawn “confuses” Maggie and that it is “easier” if his mother takes over childcare. Dawn protests angrily but feels powerless. A subsequent letter from Heron’s solicitor confirms a divorce and demands custody—the news devastates her.

For a month, Dawn does not attend the support group, but she researches the route: a train and two buses. She scouts the bookshop on the wrong day and time, too afraid to enter. Finally, on a November evening, she arrives at Euston and watches through the shop window as women arrange chairs. A tall woman invites her in. Dawn joins the group but says nothing; she simply listens. She notices Sue, who wears expensive suede boots and explains that her husband pressed charges to gain custody after he abused her. Sue’s lawyers accused her of dressing their sons as girls.

Dawn returns week after week. She learns about the endless battles with social workers, the cost of solicitors, and the compromises women make. Some strike deals; others lose everything. The group also shares ordinary news—Melanie’s son getting into grammar school, Caroline’s first driving lesson. Sue tells Dawn the system is “terrified” of mothers living together, seeing them as a threat to the established order.

A visiting solicitor advises the women to claim they live alone and to make private settlements if possible, warning that appearing “political” will hurt their cases. Dawn already has a court date set by Heron, who wants a legal resolution. Dawn believes her love for Maggie will be obvious to any judge, but the other women’s experiences suggest otherwise.

Back at Hazel’s flat, Dawn reflects that finding the group has helped her feel less alone. Yet she knows she is being watched: a man follows her from bus stops to the bookshop. Her own solicitor told her not to move in with Hazel permanently, but she had nowhere else to go after Heron changed the locks on their family home. She tried to apply for council housing, but the official told her to return to her husband. With no other options, she went to Hazel.

After each group meeting, Dawn walks home imagining a future where she, Hazel, and Maggie can live together in a bigger place. She repeats the mantra: “almost a life.”

Key Events

Dawn finds a support group for lesbian mothers through a magazine classified ad.
Heron restricts Dawn’s access to Maggie, claiming her presence is confusing.
Dawn receives divorce and custody papers from Heron’s solicitor.
She scouts the bookshop location but delays attending for a month.
Dawn finally joins the group; she listens without speaking on her first night.
Sue shares her story of domestic abuse and losing custody of her sons.
A visiting solicitor warns the women to appear “good girls” in court.
Dawn learns that the system views lesbian mothers as political threats.
Heron has changed the locks; Dawn is locked out of her family home.
Dawn moves in with Hazel, her only option.
The chapter ends with Dawn imagining a shared life with Hazel and Maggie.

Character Development

Dawn: Grows from isolated fear to tentative solidarity. Initially paralysed by the decision to attend the group, she eventually becomes a regular participant. She internalises the group’s advice but still harbours a naïve belief that her case will be different. Her determination to be with Maggie remains fierce, even as the legal system closes in.
Heron: Remains offstage but his actions dominate Dawn’s life. He uses legal and emotional pressure to sever her bond with Maggie, revealing a cold, controlling side.
Hazel: Appears only in Dawn’s thoughts and at the chapter’s close, but she provides the only safe haven. Their relationship is portrayed as a fragile “almost life.”
Sue: A veteran of the group, she embodies the systemic injustice these women face. Her calm explanation—“They are terrified”—encapsulates the chapter’s core tension.
The support-group women: Collectively represent the hidden community of mothers fighting for their children and their relationships. They are ordinary women caught in an extraordinary struggle.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The support group as sanctuary and risk: The bookshop back room offers understanding and practical knowledge, yet attending makes Dawn “political” in the eyes of the court. The group is both a lifeline and a liability.
Surveillance and invisibility: Dawn is followed by a man; she watches the group from outside before entering; the group itself meets in secret. The motif of watching and being watched underscores the constant threat of exposure.
The effort of connection: The chapter’s title points to the immense labour required to find community—telephone boxes, scouting trips, navigating hostile systems. Dawn must overcome fear and practical obstacles.
Domestic abuse erased in custody battles: Sue’s story shows how courts prioritise conventional morality over protecting victims. Her husband’s violence is ignored while her sexuality is used against her.
“Almost a life”: Dawn and Hazel’s repeated phrase captures the limbo of waiting for a future that may never arrive. It echoes the conditional existence of many women in the group.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 25 deepens the novel’s exploration of systemic homophobia in the 1980s British family court system. Dawn’s journey from isolated despair to collective solidarity is a turning point; she realises she is not alone, but also that the odds are stacked against her. The chapter exposes the double bind of lesbian motherhood: to fight for custody is to risk being branded a political activist, yet to stay silent is to lose everything. By giving voice to Sue and the other women, Lynch broadens the story beyond Dawn’s personal struggle, placing it within a larger history of discrimination. The chapter also reinforces the central question: how far will Dawn go to keep Maggie? The answer becomes more ominous as the legal machinery grinds forward.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Dawn hesitate to attend the support group for a month, and what finally motivates her to go?
Dawn fears that the women will be either strange or exactly like her—both possibilities threaten her sense of uniqueness. She also dreads the legal consequences of being linked to a visible community. She finally goes because she has no other source of understanding; her isolation becomes unbearable, and the practical information about custody battles becomes essential.

2. What does Sue’s line “They are terrified” reveal about the court system’s treatment of lesbian mothers?
Sue explains that the system fears that houses of mothers living together would “bring the whole system down.” This reveals that judges and social workers view lesbian households as a political threat to traditional family structures. The courts punish these women not for harming their children but for challenging societal norms, effectively using custody as a weapon.

3. How does the chapter depict the tension between personal identity and political survival?
Dawn is advised not to appear “political” by attending the group or living with Hazel. Yet she cannot separate her identity as a mother from her relationship with Hazel. The chapter shows that survival in the legal system requires hiding parts of oneself, but that hiding also erodes the life she is fighting for. The group itself is both a political act and a personal necessity.