The Long and Winding Road by Lesley Pearse

 

Born during the Second World War, Lesley’s innocence came to an abrupt end when a neighbour found her, aged 3, coatless in the snow. The mother she’d been unable to wake had been dead for days. Sent to an orphanage, Lesley soon learned adults couldn’t always be trusted.

As a teenager in the swinging sixties, she took herself to London. Here, the second great tragedy of her life occurred. Falling pregnant, she was sent to a mother and baby home, and watched helplessly as her newborn was taken from her.

But like so many of her generation, Lesley had to carry on. She was, after all, a true survivor. Marriage and children followed – and all the while she nurtured a dream: to be a writer. Yet it wasn’t until at the age of 48 that her stories – of women struggling in a difficult world – found a publisher, and the bestseller lists beckoned.

As heartbreaking as it is heartwarming, Lesley’s story really is A Long and Winding Road with surprises and uplifting hope around every corner . . .

This is certainly a first for me as I have probably only read 4 autobiographies in my lifetime but none of them were the lives of an author so The Long and Winding Road by Lesley Pearse was going to be a new insight for me.

I have loved all of the fictional books I have read by Lesley Pearse and having now read of her colourful and eventful life it is quite easy to see where she gets some of the ideas and inspiration behind her characters and the storylines she creates. She tells us how she was always making up stories as a child some would call it lies few would see it as storytelling.

I fell into this storyline with ease because I am currently living in Chatham and with the early years of Lesley’s childhood she was raised around Chatham and Rochester so a lot of the places she mentioned in her book I have discovered or heard of myself so it made me feel more connected to the storyline. One thing that really shocked me was how often Lesley moved home and not just home different areas too, I actually lost count of how many homes she has had but one thing that shines through is her determination because no matter what the reason for her next move she never seemed to sit and wallow she would storm forward and find her next home and job with defiance she really was quite admirable in this way.

Lesley is also very honest when it came to her relationships, children and drug taking which was all very unexpected and insightful and again where a lot of people may have crumbled Lesley seemed to have a decisive mind and fire in her belly to forge forward in her own way.

There wasn’t a lot about her writing or her publishing journey which I was kind of hoping to have a little more of a glimpse into but that aside I still found myself completely hooked on her every word and actually enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting. It is quite something to now feel like you know the author behind the book in more light and I was quite fascinated by her and admired her determination.

Available to buy HERE!

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