This is a story of personal survival. It tells how, in the 1950s/1960s, a girl from a Welsh mining village was affected by her parents’ divorce, and the stigma attached to divorce at that time. It explains how not having a father in her life caused her so much anguish – the awkward questions she had to face; the sense of worthlessness she felt; and the trembling fear and anxiety that seemed to be with her for as long as she could remember.
In order to move on with her life, Marged needed to re-live her childhood years, and in writing and sharing her story with the reader, she believes she has diminished the destructive impact which has been with her for so long. Good memories have sustained her but these were always counteracted by the bad ones that often spiralled her into deep despair.
This journey into the past tells of an unsettled upbringing, unsettled schooling and the coping strategies she adopted to deal with everyday life. Salvation came through learning, through education and certain teachers who, by their example, showed her that anything is achievable if it's wanted enough.
The story is a social account of the time and will strike a chord with many.
The author has also learned from her childhood experience that perhaps secrets and a hush-hush approach to matrimonial problems may not always be the answer. Some children may be more astute that grown-ups give them credit for. In her case, she was very much aware that a father was missing in her life but it wasn't talked about. It was as if shoving a problem where it couldn't be seen would make it go away; but it didn't go away. For many, divorce may be the answer to an unhappy relationship but divorce itself can throw up other problems, as the writer discovered. Children shouldn't have to feel abandoned, have feelings of low self-esteem. They shouldn't have to worry because their circumstances may be different to others'.
If we are to believe statistics, children from one-parent may well turn into delinquents, continually in trouble with authority. By being able to focus on something outside the immediate situation, in her case education and learning, Marged was eventually able to 'rise above it', words she had repeatedly heard throughout her childhood.
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