Borrowed Body

By Valerie Mason-John

"I could have been born and raised in Africa. But my Spirit was in too much of a rush to be reincarnated...At six weeks I was chucked out into the new year of 1965 which wasn't prepared to welcome on African baby, abandoned on a harsh English winter's day." So begins Pauline's spirited and moving story of her childhood and teenage years in and out of foster homes and back and forth to Dr. Barnardo's Village in Essex. Her Barnardo's family was ruled by an unlikely trio--Aunty Claire, a fervent Christian; her laconic husband, the German Jewish Uncle Boris; and Aunty Morag, the cook. And, of course, other kids orphaned or abandoned like Pauline. Woven into this account are Pauline's angel and spirit companions--Sparky, Annabel and Snake-- who by turns help and hinder her to survive in the "real world." The Barnardo's good times are shattered by the sudden visits of her mother, whom she calls Wunmi and with whom she goes to live in a London high-rise. Wunmi's method of refashioning Pauline into a dutiful African child is literally to knock the English out of her. Pauline tries other ways to survive--sniffing glue and shoplifting--until the harsh realities of detention centres and juvenile courts make Pauline think again...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1927335361
• ISBN13: 9781927335369
• Release Date: November 2013
• Publisher: Demeter Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A good companion...stimulating

Author Valerie Mason-John spent much of her childhood at a Dr Barnado's village in Essex, she then moved to London to live with her biological mother and at the age of 14 was living on the streets. She draws on these experiences in her new novel Borrowed Body which follows the life of a Nigerian girl abandoned by her mother. Valerie tells us about the inspirations behind the book and how, in the Barnado's centenary year, she looks back at her time in a children's home. Recommended.