Whilst, The Wendy
House is fiction it covers a real and frightening event that continues to happen
today. Even the soaps on TV are running story lines to help highlight and bring
to our attention the nightmares that haunt children who have and are being
abused.
Writing, The Wendy
House, was extremely difficult and harrowing. And whilst all my characters and
the events are fiction the reality is that much of the information about abuse
was told to me by a person whose life is crippled with the memories of the
abuse she had to live through.
I don’t argue that,
The Wendy House is an easy book to read. It isn’t.
It is about a beautiful family who trusted and
loved.
It is about lies,
fear and secrets.
It is about surviving
against all the odds.
Turning each page
will have you hesitating and wondering if you can carry on.
It will make you
angry.
It will make you scream
out.
It will make you weep.
Yet despite all of this, I do hope you will find
the courage to read, The Wendy House. I know you will feel all the pain my
character feels, but please would you give a kind thought to the brave person
who told me so much about what had happened to her.
The Wendy House is dedicated to this very brave young lady.
“You
know every time I hear this song from Tina Turner, I cringe, not because it's weird or
anything like that, but it reminds me of our old neighbour’s birthday. Not that
I was there, lordy, lordy, no! But my Mama was and believe you me you would
cringe if you knew what she got up to, but let’s not go there for now. It’s not
good for my street cred! Erasing that scene from my brain, I’ve been thinking more
about the words and have decided that this song is my Mama and sums her up
perfectly.
“You
can easily recognise her, or maybe I should say, you would hear her long before
you spotted her. Not that she shouts or anything, she just giggles… a lot!
“When
it comes to clothes, these days she has lots, but in the past her wardrobe
would have fitted into a draw, which it did. But no amount of coat hangers she
now has can change what she loves and that is anything that glitters; the more
bling the better. I’m sure if she could wear one of those twiddling dance
room balls, she would.Before our World
turned upside down, and believe you me it catapulted us out of the universe,
Mama bought a dress from a charity shop. It was almost given to her because no
one would buy it. The lady who worked in the shop said it was hideous, but my Mama
thought it was the best thing she’d seen in years. I almost freaked out when
she cavorted into the lounge, flinging her arms in the air, and crying out, “Da
daaaaa…” Stunned, I stared. The dress was short and covered in purple sequins.
I was speechless! The next day she wore it to a meeting at a posh bank we had to
attend after everything had kicked off… (Sorry, I’ve been told not say any more
about this, though I’m allowed to say, it’s all in The Birthday Card).
As
well as giggling, my Mama smokes way too much, believe you me I wonder how my
lungs still work with all the fog that fills our lives. I swear she’s kept Mr
Greedy, (the corner shop) in tobacco business over the years.
During
my Mama’s short life, she’s in her mid-thirties, a lot has happened, some
ordinary stuff and some blow your mind stuff, but whilst she is a crazy,
giggling scary Mama, she is my Mama and I love her to the moon and back, but
don’t tell her as she’ll go all weird and want to cuddle and kiss me…. Gross!
I’m seventeen for goodness sake!
She
sang this song, using an empty beer bottle for a microphone after leaping onto
the neighbour’s coffee table and belting it out at Jack’s birthday party. Thankfully
I wasn’t there. So this is for you Mama because to me you are simply the best.
