When I first picked up a pen it wasn’t planned. I felt a need to write down my childhood. I needed to unburden myself. I wanted to give a balanced reflection of the good and the not so good. I certainly didn’t write to make people upset with me or anyone else. I hoped people would understand and empathise with some of the characters. It was real life on a council estate at that time. Some will say it was tough or brutal. I certainly don’t. It was a different time.
My poor old Mum and Dad had far tougher childhoods. I had a roof over my head, a bed, food and my dogs. What more could a boy want. We didn’t show affection to one another. But who did back then? As I get older I realise how privileged I was to grow up there and then. We didn’t have much. But what we did have, we shared.
That was obviously How Grim Was My Valley. I believe every generation has it’s challenges. And so does every family. It has certainly helped me not to judge others.
