Sunday's Child Blurb

In a crisis torn, South American country, only little Ann's faith, her determination, and one young woman could help keep her dreams of escape alive.

A true story. 

Set in Guyana, a former British Colony, told through the eyes of a child sometimes called, Ann. She tells of the harrowing life she’s forced to live with her abusive grandmother, while giving a glimpse into the political and cultural climate of the economically stricken country at the time.

Ann didn’t care that she lived in poverty - after all, the best hours of her young life were those spent in the food lines - because anything, anything was better than the horrendous abuse she suffered at home.

Daily blackouts, political brainwash, murders raging through her unstable country, and her hunger pains were no match for the darkness that lived within her soul - a soul sketched as a dot-to-dot picture of constant fear. Each day, each dot got her closer to the completion of an existence steadily spiralling downward to certain annihilation of everything she hoped her life could be.

Sunday’s Child is not only about pain, but about laughter, mental breakdowns, evictions, loyalty, and above all, love; for it is love that ultimately triumphs in the wretched arena of torture, corruption and abandonment.

Darkness can become light. I know, because I used to be Ann.

You can buy Sunday's Child at the link on the right.

Why I Wrote Sunday's Child

All of the events that I’ve recorded in this book have happened to me in real life, each and every one of them and more.  I have changed most of the names of the people in this memoir – but not Theresa’s – because I did not wish to cause them any embarrassment.  Apart from these names, nothing else has been changed; although, a few of the events may not have appeared chronologically.

I have recorded these episodes of my life to show that regardless of your past, with God’s help, and a few good people, you are potentially able to rise above it and can consciously decide not to allow it to affect who you are at present.

It’s an agonizing affair, but I believe that if people who’ve been abused in their childhood allow their entire lives to be ruined by it, they have in effect, surrendered to their abuser, their right of self. Abusers are aware of the devastating powers of their actions, so if the victim continues to live his/her life in the shadow of that abuse even after it has ceased, he/she is enabling the abuser to succeed in destroying their life, thus achieving their goal.  

I wrote this book in the progressive developmental language of a growing child to provide an opportunity for the reader to visualise the intimate thoughts of an imprisoned child of that age.  This I hope, would offer a tool, which could help to identify a child who is being abused.

In addition, I wanted to express my experiences in the way I saw them as a child, because I was not willing to add my adult opinions to this story. Firstly, because it allowed the person I am now, to take a step back and write the story objectively. Also, it meant that I did not have to painstakingly analyse a lot of the behaviours demonstrated in Sunday’s Child; patterns which, although I could not understand them then, are clear to me now because of my training, Child Psychology qualifications, and work experiences. For legal purposes, I want to mention also, that some of my then juvenile political assessments of the government were not necessarily factual. They are merely what I believed to be the truth, based mainly on the opinions of the adults I overheard, and also on the effects their policies had on my young life.

Sunday's Child Exerpts

Sunday's Child excerpts 

Below is a bundle of Sunday’s Child excerpts. Please note all these were posted before the book was published. Therefore, with pre-publishing editing, many of these excerpts in the released version of Sunday’s Child may be slightly different - not in content, obviously, but in style. You’ll find a synopsis and some other particulars about my book at my confidence blog here: Sunday’s Child. The book is now available to buy from the link on the right. 

Surviving the break-in

The eviction

The day mammy broke my face

The child and the food line

The curious incident of the body in the latrine pit

How to cook human flesh

A waterfall of angry, dashing colours

Rum burns your tongue

How to earn seven years of bad luck

The arthritis merchant

A cup of pee

Rock-a-bye auntie, your bough did break

Birth Flowers and Stones

I've been thinking of something I could post here that would be both useful and informative for the start of this year. While I'm not a fan of astrological limitations of what a person should be, based on when he/she happened to be born, I quite like the idea of jewellery (who doesn't, right). Flowers don't hurt either.

I've made a list of birth stones and flowers which make traditional gifts for friends and family (especially women) related to the month in which they were born. Make a note of these for when you're shopping for presents for the rest of the year.

January

Stone - Garnet

Flower - Carnation or Snowdrop 

February

  Stone - Amethyst

 Flower – Violet or Primrose

March

 Stone - Aquamarine 

Flower - Daffodil

A Post In Pictures

I've always wanted to create a full post in progressive pictures. I think I've managed to do just that today. This is how I transformed my son's bed from plain and dull, to one that's fun and colourful. With just an old, dusty headboard and some well-chosen material, you to can make a stunning piece of furniture out of your old, boring bed.
Note: use an old, soft blanket under your top layer of material to create a softer, more cushiony  feel and look.

Saw This And Thought Of You

My cousin sent me this by email and I thought it was pretty sweet. I don't forward chain mail, I usually just read then delete them. This one made me think twice so I'd like to share it with you. I've edited it slightly for punctuation and word usage, but for the most part, have left it intact. 

photo credit

If you happened to show up on my door step crying, 

I would care.

If you called and asked

me to pick you up because something happened, 

I would come.

If you had one day left 

to live your life, 

I would want to be part of

that last day.

If you needed a shoulder 

to cry on, 

I would give you mine. 

The relationship is between two eyes are: 

They blink together,

They move together, 

They cry together,

They see things together,

And they sleep together, even though they never see each other.

That's what friendship is.

Life isn't about how you survived the storm.

It's about how you danced in the rain! 

Pretty, isn't it?