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No Easy Road
 
 

No Easy Road [Kindle Edition]

Patsy Whyte
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

Digital List Price: £0.77 What's this?
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Product Description

Product Description

Josie told me she was murdered. When you're a lonely six-year-old, you don't really understand what that means. All you know is you're happy to have a friend to play with.
Patsy Whyte caught glimpses of an invisible world growing up in a children's home in Aberdeen. One of a family of ten traveller children, torn apart by the state in the 1950's, Patsy recalls a childhood scarred by years of mental and emotional abuse, prejudice and hatred.

Patsy left the home at the age of 15, angry, naive and ill-prepared, but with a will to survive which would be tested to the limit. She rubbed shoulders with the rich and powerful and the poorest in the land, and drifted into a world of violence, prostitution and drugs which almost claimed her life.

More than anything, No Easy Road is a testament to the survival of the human spirit.

From the Publisher

Patsy Whyte's debut autobiography, No Easy Road, recalls the earliest years of her life up until the age of 16. It is a true story, and a remarkable and frank account of her struggle to survive. "It's taken me more than 30 years to write about my experiences," she says. "Fortunately, I've been blessed with a great memory. I can still remember people and places and incidents in the clearest of detail, even although so many years have passed." A second book is planned, taking Patsy's story forward through the rest of her teenage years. It promises to be as compelling as her first.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 64 people found the following review helpful
By TopCat TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found this book being recommended on a forum and when I read the product description thought it sounded fascinating and moving. This book is the author's debut autobiography (apparently a second book continuing her story is planned) and tells of how she was taken from her traveller family at a young age, and details her experiences in childrens' homes and hostels. Not only does she have to contend with the cruel, detached house mother but also the negative attention her family's reputation brings. She gets herself removed from care at 15 and struggles to live without a family or the state supporting her. At the end she has reached 16 and we find out a litte about what happens to her later in life in the epilogue.

Firstly I ought to say I have tremendous respect for the author, it must have taken a lot of courage to dredge up most of these memories and then share them with the public. I found the early part of the book very moving and cannot imagine how life must have been for young children growing up without love and affection in an institution. I think having a young daughter myself made it really hit home. I was also interested in reading about Patsy's visions of spirits, but felt that after the theme was introduced it was never really developed.

Unfortunately I went into this book expecting something it wasn't largely because of the product description, "She rubbed shoulders with the rich and powerful and the poorest in the land, and drifted into a world of violence, prostitution and drugs which almost claimed her life." All these elements played a part in her life but this statement lead me to expect something different, it almost makes it sound like she fell into the underworld when in fact she was a young woman who struggled to keep a job and a roof above her head and was subjected to domestic violence. It doesn't make the story bad, just not what I thought it would be.

Overall it was an eye-opening account of a woman who was failed by the system, but I found the writing style a bit too much "tell" and while I don't doubt some of the incidents must have been very painful to recount, to me the way some incidents were written meant they weren't entirely clear, leaving me a little confused as to what had actually happened. On the kindle every page had big spaces between paragraphs, and the paragraphs themselves were short and staccato leaving a lot of (off) white space. The snappy telling worked at the beginning, because it seemed to fit with how a young child might feel in such distressing circumstances but didn't sit comfortably with me later on. I had expected it to make me quite emotional but it was all quite matter of fact and didn't have quite the impact I thought it might. I'm afraid this isn't a book I would readily recommend (and as this is an autobiography I feel terrible saying that)
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By Kaska
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
How Patsy Whyte came through this & out the other side i'll never know.

I found this book via KUF, purchased & then sat down all day & night & into the next morning reading it, ignoring everything else around me.

You hear stories of the care system today, but my God, nothing could be as painful & challenging as that of being in care in the 50's & 60's. My eyes welled with tears more than once through this book.

My heart went out to this child & others mentioned in her story & she told of the harsh rules & cruelty {especially the mental cruelty} that was dished out by the "house mothers".

The fear & confusion must have been tremendous for these children, adding to that being split from your siblings at such a young age & not knowing where they are or knowing who they are.

There are some times in this childs life in care that she see's as good ones, happy ones, hopeful ones & i'm glad she managed to feel some of this, but lurking in the background was always a tragic case of metal abuse & intimidation.

I cannot say i loved this book, how could you read this & love it, but you love the child & you want to hopelesly comfort her.
You'll put your hand over your mouth & feel your'e spine go cold on many a page.

It is extremely well written & i would recommend to anyone.

My heart goes out to you Patsy Whyte, not only for you as a child, but for having the courage to re-live this when writing.
At the end of your book you say there were a further eight years, two marriges & five children later before you found your partner of 30 years. I am so glad you finally found love & you're life is more settled & even though there are still ups & downs you no longer walk alone.

I almost feel ashamed to ask if you will be turning to the past once again & writing of those eight years, as i would like to read further into this young girls life.

A definate 5 star plus read!
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By BookBliss TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I really wanted to like this book. I had seen on a few discussion boards someone telling people how great it was and there was a couple of 5 star reviews so I had high hopes.

I have read a few biographies lately by non-celebs and I have tremendous respect for Patsy Whyte and her determination to turn her life around given the upbringing that she had. However, I didn't enjoy this book at all, the problem wasn't with the subject matter (which had the chance of being depressing) it should have been a thought provoking and engaging book which made you want to learn more about Patsy's life. The writing style prevented this from happening. The writing itself was very flat and devoid of feeling and paragraphs jumped about from one place to another. I reached a point where I stopped caring about Patsy and given the subject matter this is the exact opposite of what was needed from a reader. I can see what the author was trying to do and I think with either (a) a better publisher who put more effort into the rewriting and editing or (b) a ghost writer then this book could have been brilliant.

I was also disappointed with the blurb on the back of the book as it really doesn't reflect what the story was about, yes Patsy sees ghosts but each meeting is like a side issue that is mentioned in a couple of sentences and then forgotten about. I had expected this to be a central theme, more like The Sixth Sense given that it's part of the sales pitch.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
heartbreaking
dont know how she ever survived this life her mother should have been jailed for what she had done to her,good luck to her and her daughter hope the rest of her life will be... Read more
Published 27 days ago by Mary G. Martin
Amazing Book
Fantastic book, well written, emotional and a fast page turner from start to end. Cant wait for the next installment.
Published 7 months ago by moonbe1972
No easy road
This book has made me realise how soon we forget, these things happened in my lifetime but it seems more like 19th century.
Published 9 months ago by Sukey
not very gripping.....
I wanted to really enjoy this book after reading the synopsis, but it was very repetative and whatever went wrong was because of her background and upbringing, not because she was... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Maria T
no easy road
i loved this book i could not put it down i cant believe how she made it throw a life like that and i loved the ending that she is now happy i only wonder why her sister never... Read more
Published 11 months ago by snowdrop
Disappointing
I too, like other reviewers, saw the book mentioned on a forum and had been looking forward to reading it. However, it was a disappointing read. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Susanne
boring
Whereas I have great respect for the author I have to say I did not enjoy this book. I found it quite boring from the begining, I continued reading in the hope that it would... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Bob Hope
Heart-rending
A good read if you enjoy the mormal, down-to-earth and non-celebrity biographies. It's hard not to feel immense sympathy for the poor un-loved little child growing up in a series... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Jenny
No Easy Road
This book has a very poor ending, that leaves you wondering why you bothered to read it! There are numerous typo errors and on every occasion where the text should read 'though'... Read more
Published 15 months ago
disappointing
I usually enjoy this genre of books,but this was very disappointing for the following reasons-The writing was very weak and did not convey any emotional depth,its written in almost... Read more
Published 15 months ago by honeybunny
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Popular Highlights

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&quote;
Little did I know one day, in the not too distant future, I would be where he was now, walking the same path and feeling rejected and alone and struggling to survive in a heartless world. &quote;
Highlighted by 8 Kindle users
&quote;
I was only four when I had my first vision. It wasn't a dream. I was wide awake at the time. It happened in the small dingy cloakroom of a children's home in Aberdeen. A short while before, the cloakroom had been crammed full of noisy kids putting on coats and jackets prior to leaving for school. Now it was quiet. The long line of hooks to hang up the coats and jackets was empty. There was only one little red coat, my coat, left hanging on its own. &quote;
Highlighted by 6 Kindle users
&quote;
I enjoyed walking out the school gates for the very last time, glad to be leaving so many unhappy memories behind me. School days were supposed to be the best days of your life, but not for me. They were difficult years, often humiliating, a real waste of time in the end. &quote;
Highlighted by 5 Kindle users

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