Fiona Fridd, Lottie Fridd and John Fridd
Fridd Family History
Life Without Lottie
How I Coped (or didn't) During My Daughter's Gap Year
England - Hong Kong - Australia - Bali - Singapore
'Definitely a strong contender as debut book of the year'
'Uncompromisingly unputdownable!'
*** Summer 2008 Release ***
About The Book:
This is the intense, very personal and deeply moving TRUE story of how one mother coped (or didn't) after saying a nightmare goodbye to her only daughter leaving for her Gap year from Heathrow airport.
After the farewell hugs and tears, the story moves on to the very personal account of how the author, Fiona Fridd, her husband, Nick, and her son, John, coped, sometimes well, sometimes not at all, with the emotional strain of being parted from someone so precious.
Whether you are a mother, father, brother or sister, you will discover through the sense of loss Fiona conveys in this roller coaster ride of a story what it is like to be parted from a loved member of your family for the very first time. Being parted from Lottie in such circumstances was like enduring bereavement but without a body to mourn, leaving Fiona wondering how long it would take for her pain to ease.
Contact between mother and daughter was chiefly maintained by text and email, most of which are transcribed, word-for-word. These build up into a fascinating picture of the realities of backpacker life 'down under', of both the great times and the horrors, the latter which Lottie had to overcome - ten thousand miles away from home.
Rest assured Fiona's story is not all doom and gloom - far from it. Fiona has a real knack for not only writing spell-binding descriptions of heart-breaking times but also those of lighter, hilarious events. You will not be able to put this book down! She writes straight from the heart and with complete honesty and emotion that captures your attention and holds it, over and over again. She pulls no punches either - the list of those who 'should be shot' extends as the story of Lottie's travels progresses.
Life at home is an integral part of the book and covers everyday life - which, at times, it is certainly not. John, Lottie's younger brother, is knocked out on the rugby pitch - and not by a fellow player - strangely enough within 24 hours of Lottie's surfing accident in Sydney ...
... He also gets in to a few 'interesting' scrapes, which most 17 year old lads do, partly because he missed his sister so much.
Fiona runs a successful B&B and self-catering business at the family home and included in the book are some hilarious accounts of certain guests who stayed at Manor Farm whilst Lottie was away. Family pets play their role too; one of the bassets became dangerously ill and required emergency surgery; the other discovered a rat at a most inappropriate moment; Siamese kittens arrived on the scene, caused havoc and Fiona prayed that neutering would help...
It's all here, and more.
Fiona would be delighted to receive any feedback and can be contacted by email at
To order a copy of the book, please go to:
www.miragepublishing.com
...and click on 'New Titles'.