Walking Over Eggshells
Lucinda E. Clarke
Publisher : CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1st edition (July 29, 2013)
Language : English
Paperback : 238 pages
ISBN-10 : 1491246960
ISBN-13 : 978-1491246962
Description
Walking Over Eggshells is an autobiography that tells the story of a mentally abused child, who married a "Walter Mitty" clone who took her to live in many different countries. They moved from England to Kenya, from Libya to Botswana and on again to South Africa. It took all her courage to survive in situations that were at times dangerous, sometimes humorous, but always nerve wracking. She had a variety of jobs, different types of homes, and was both a millionairess and totally broke. At one end of the scale she met royalty, hosted ambassadors, and won numerous awards for her writing and for her television programmes. At the other end, she climbed over garbage dumps, fended off the bailiffs, and coped with being abandoned in the African bush with a seven week old baby, no money and no resources. She admits to being the biggest coward in the world, but her survival instincts kicked in and she lived to tell her story. This book will make you laugh and cry, but also it also explains the damage being brought up by a mother with a personality disorder can inflict on a child. However, it is not all doom and gloom, and hopefully it will inspire others who did not have the best start in life either. All names have been changed to protect both the guilty and the innocent - and that includes the author as well!
Review: Walking Over Eggshells Lucinda E. Clarke
Walking Over Eggshells caught my eye as it's an autobiography that spans sixty years and eight countries. Throughout the story, I found I had to remind myself that Lucinda's family experienced a great loss when she was still a child.
We learned early on in the story that she had emotional difficulties and who wouldn't if you lost your dad at two and had a mom that repeatedly told you I don't want you.
The sad thing is Lucinda received more nurturing when she was away at school than she did at home. And many of her other female connections failed miserably as it was quite apparent there was no mutual devotion to one another.
Lucinda moves from one bad relationship to the next and then she gets married and we hope to see some mutual respect between Jeremy and her. They start a family and he seems to do whatever he wants without any thought for the consequences it will cause him or his household. On the job front, he hits the ball multiple times but it does not appear to last long before he is recognized as being ineffectual. He keeps trying to redeem himself at home but it is fleeting as he is self-serving.
As they move from country to country we see Lucinda use humor to cope with everyday issues. She gains more strength and resilience. Even though we do not see her stand up for herself, at home, as we think she should, we do see her striving to help provide well for her two daughters. Sadly, she often does what she feels is expected of her and her lack of confidence concerning close relationships has an effect on her girls as well. One hopes when she marries again that she will be in a constructive commitment.
There are many scenes throughout the book that make me shake my head in disbelief and some that make me shudder as Lucinda walks over eggshells.
About the Author
Lucinda E Clarke was born in Dublin but has lived in 8 other countries to date. She wanted to write but was railroaded into teaching. She fell into other careers; radio announcer, riding school owner, sewing giant teddy bears. She began scriptwriting professionally in 1986 winning over 20 awards. She also wrote mayoral speeches, company reports, drama documentaries, educational programmes, adverts, news inserts, court presentations, videos for National Geographic, cookery programmes and street theatre to name but a few!
She lectured in scriptwriting, had her own column in various publications, and wrote articles for national magazines. She was commissioned for two educational books by Heinemann and Macmillan, and book reports for UNESCO and UNICEF.
She set up and ran her own video production company in South Africa.
"Walking Over Eggshells" was her first self-published book, an autobiography describing the emotional abuse she suffered from early childhood and subsequent travels and adventures.
She published her second book a novel, "Amie: African Adventure" in July 2014, which was a #1 bestseller in genre on both sides of the Atlantic.
Lucinda's third book "Truth, Lies, and Propaganda", was followed by "More Truth, Lies and Propaganda" - memoirs about her career in the print and broadcast media, highlighting South Africa and its people.
"Amie Savage Safari" is the 5th in the Amie in Africa award-winning series - the world's most reluctant and incompetent spy is in trouble again.
In 2019 Lucinda changed genre and published the first in a series of psychological thrillers. “A Year in the life of Leah Brand” was followed by “A Year in the Life of Andrea Coe.” Book 3 is due out in September 2020.