Stories Of Our Lives
Sue Pritchard believes as ordinary people, we all have extraordinary stories we should celebrate and share - if we so wish.
Everyone has a story to tell.
I was reminded of this when trawling through childhood memories and my family history at the weekend.
I discovered the typewriter my parents had bought me when I was about ten years old. I wrote my first stories on it, even submitting a few to magazines when under the tutelage of a published author, who became my pen pal back in the early 1980s. (And yes, in case you’re interested, they were all rejected!).
Love Letters
I also found the letters I’d sent my parents when I first started university, hundreds of miles away from home back in 1990, and feeling a little homesick.
“Didn’t they keep your letters after your first year then?” my brother asked.
“It’s probably more a case of I’d settled down so didn’t bother to write as much afterwards,” I admitted guiltily, feeling the parental woe of the use-by-date we become accustomed to when our offspring fly the nest.
There were the love letters my dad had written to my mum when he’d been working away from home, soon after they’d married in the 1960s. My nan had also written to my dad when he was in The Netherlands as a young boy – although we’re not sure why he was there.
And I struggled to hide my emotions when discovering the heart-breaking postcard my grandad had sent, only a few months before he died at the tragic age of 36. We think he was probably ill when sending a picturesque view of London to my dad.
‘Dearest Roy,’ my grandad had written. ‘When we go to nanny’s in August, I shall take you to London and show you these places. All my love, Daddy.’
We don’t know if he ever did keep his promise though.
From Afar
The most travelled letters had come from St Helena - one of the world’s most remote islands. Only accessible by a mail ship that sailed there a few times a year, this is where my other nan grew up. Moving to England at the end of World War Two after marrying my grandad, her family were eagerly checking in to see if she was okay.
And I couldn’t help but smile when discovering my dad’s treasured fan club letter, along with a signed photo from Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger. My dad had always been fascinated by the Wild West, and I can imagine his delight when receiving a letter from this ‘real life’ cowboy who shared his name.
Powerful Words
The fascinating thing is, although this is all about me, we all have similar stories to discover and tell. And my treasured haul of memories over the weekend has rekindled my love for writing. It’s made me realise the power of written words can be felt long after the person who wrote them has left us, reinforcing my belief that as ordinary people, we all have extraordinary stories we should celebrate – and share - if we so wish.
And now, more than ever, it’s made me determined to share the story of my book Dream Catcher, with the world - one day soon.