C’est la Vie
Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy
by
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The Immigrant Child - forty years on. As a seven year old child my lasting memories of the land of my birth, Manchester, England, were of dirty polluted air and canals and derelict housing estates. Our neighbours were being herded into high rise apartments and the Coal Mines were closing down. Fortunately, we left before the real brunt of those closures was felt in the burgeoning rise in unemployment. Now don’t get me wrong, there were some really positive aspects to living in Manchester. We had the family support of our extended family, an abundance of grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins and were very involved in the church as we all attended the local catholic school. We had the freedom to explore our local stomping grounds and I know for a fact that my parents would cringe at some of the spots we visited, even though I was in the care of two older brothers. My parents were an unlikely union at the time, my father being an Irish Republican and my mother born and bred in England of Protestant parents. I think the whole situation was made so much simpler due to the fact that my mother had converted to Catholicism some years before they met. My father was a hard working man who provided well for his family despite the fact that he had a very sad and disadvantaged upbringing himself, in Ireland. We left England with six children, as “Ten Pound Poms” in nineteen sixty six and we were absolutely amazed to find the streets of our neighbourhood, lined with well wishers eager to cheer us on our journey. This was a great adventure we were realising, one that most people could not even imagine embarking upon, even in their wildest dreams. Australia was just so far away, and to leave family and friends behind was inconceivable to most. Many people had not even ventured out of Manchester in their whole lives.
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About the Book
As a child, Marie Cunningham Davidson was a “Ten Pound Pom:” a British citizen who immigrated to Australia with her family. On the fortieth anniversary of her exciting move from England to an unknown world, Marie began writing stories and poems that would eventually come to fruition as a thrilling collection.
C’est la Vie is fiction, but even fiction has elements of truth. Including snippets of information from the tapestry of Marie’s life, it would be impossible to leave the facts out completely. She creates stories with varied themes and characters, inspired by true events. Her recipe is a dash of fact blended with fiction, resulting in a delicious feast of words.
Within these pages find terror on the highway, a tale of ocean crossing, and poems about loneliness, depression, and autism. Through a mixture of poetry, dialogue, and essay, Marie expresses both deep emotions and light-hearted laughter. With the power to provoke, amuse, and inspire, this is a collection for everyone.
About the Author
Marie Cunningham Davidson dreamt of becoming a nurse, which she did, before moving into the rehabilitation field, where she assisted injured workers. She is currently at work on a full-length novel and several children’s books. Having found her passion for writing late in life, she believes it’s never too late to start.