I recently finished reading Bitter Almond, and it was an absolute eye-opener on the care system, if you can call it that, of the early 1960s. In 1963 there was The Great Freeze, where parts of Britain were deep in snow and frozen solid for around three months. This affected many people, and in the Terry family it meant that Dad couldn’t get to work. The knock-on effects were catastrophic. There was no money to pay the rent, and at a time where there was little to protect tenants, the family — Mum, Dad, five boys and one girl (the youngest child) were evicted.
What followed was heartbreaking as initially the mum and the children were housed at Newington Lodge in Southwark. But the dad was not allowed to stay with them and had to have work elsewhere to try to improve their fortunes and find other accommodation.
Eventually, the five boys were taken into the care of the state and ended up at Eastry Childrens Home.
Bitter Almond covers very difficult and sensitive topics around family separation as viewed through the eyes of a child. There is no way anyone can go through that sort of experience and not be profoundly changed by it. That is what comes across in this thought-provoking memoir.
Uncomfortable in many places, Bitter Almond made for an absorbing read, and I thoroughly enjoyed Terry’s writing style and his wonderful descriptions. I sincerely found this to be a page-turner because hope did remain throughout, and I was keen to find out if the family were ever reunited. I will leave you to try this highly recommended book for yourself to find out the answer to that one.
This is such a poignant read. A great review.
Thanks, Judith.
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This is a such a well-written, honest and heartbreaking book. So happy to read such a lovely review – the author really deserves it!
Thank you, Alison.