The winter of 1963 was one of the worst in living memory. Life ground to a halt as blizzards and snowstorms swept across the British Isles. It was a struggle for survival. But down a little lane-way at the edge of a bog near the village of Avenstown in the Irish midlands, sixteen-year-old Sarah Cregan was on a double journey of survival as she tries to keep her family together following the sudden death of her mother. Her father who was working in England at the time could not be contacted. To keep her family safe she hides her mother’s body in an old mausoleum till her father returned. Then the winter sets in and becomes a day-to-day struggle from the weather and the authorities waiting in the wings. They were looking for an opportunity to take her brothers away into the Industrial school system, This struggle involved pretending that their mother was still well at home. Help comes from the most unexpected sources and their dilemma spans more than forty years when they return home for their father’s funeral to face their past. What they will find will surely resurrect some past forgotten secrets or will they find redemption?
The Spindle Tree 