Castles in the Air

An eight-year-old child witnesses her mother's secret and knows that from that moment life will never be the same. After Molly, her mother dies, Alison uses her legacy to make a film about Molly's relationship with a man she had known since she was a teenager. What hold did this man have over her mother? And what other secrets was her mother hiding? Castles in the Air follows the life of Molly Ripley through the eyes of her daughter Alison. From Molly's childhood in colonial Hong Kong and Malaya; wartime adventures as a rookie office girl in the far east outpost of Bletchley Park then as a young nurse in the city; tangled romance and marriage... to her challenging middle-age when demons from the past seem set to overwhelm her. The writer in Alison can't stop until she reveals the story of Molly's past. But as a daughter, does she have the courage to face up to the uncomfortable truths of Molly's seemingly ordinary life? As she unravels the private self that Molly kept secret, Alison realises that she is trying to find herself through her mother's story. By trying to make sense of the past, can she move on with her future? Honest yet unsentimental and told with abundant love and compassion, this is a profoundly moving portrait of a woman's life, hopes and dreams. We learn not only about Molly, but about mothers and daughters, secrets and love. A story for readers struggling to come to terms with the trauma of losing loved ones.