aaaaaaaaa I'm just about to introduce Cath's mother in There was a War! I'm dead excited.
(this is some cheeky spoilers right here)
Her name's Neamh (neve) and i really love her as a character bc shes very complicated. also, a lot of characters in TWAW are currently pretty isolated from eachother, but Neamhs character and story are inherently intertwined w Cath's, which make them both really interesting to write, especially together.
she had Cath when she was very young, and unmarried. the former was pretty normal, the latter... not. due to that and other stigma she was forced to leave home with Cath when she was barely speaking age. They traveled around for years, stopping with random men for the winter who Neamh charmed some, and then they ran with whatever they could carry. Cath's kinda messed up abt that, and theres bitterness there, but she really really loves her mum - her happiest times were when it was just them on the road.
shes a very messed up person, which i think is partially inspired by my own mum, i guess. but shes so dedicated to her daughter and, in her own way, puts her before everything else.
She's dead now, so, yeah. :/