Goodbye to Ribbons : Based on a True Story, a Powerful and Thought-Provoking Novel, Set Deep in Rural Britain after the Close of WWII

I warn you now, I’m gonna tell it how it was, warts and all. It’s not always going to be pretty and I ent gonna pull any punches. But if you care to listen, here it is. This is my story from the very beginning…

“A captivating story about the resilience of the human spirit”
from the customer reviews - Kari (USA)

“…a beautifully-written page-turner”
from the customer reviews - Cait with a C (USA)

“…a well written thought provoking book. I will be recommending it to my book club for their next read.”
from the customer reviews - Margaret (USA)

“Read in one sitting. A powerful and engrossing story.”
from the customer reviews - Cleo (UK)

“Anyone who has a heart will love reading this book.”
from the customer reviews - Fishfooter (UK)

“Superb.”
from the customer reviews - G. Longhurst (UK)

Growing up in the Norfolk countryside, Rosie only wants one thing—her mother’s love. But for reasons she is yet to discover, her popular, bolshy, and brash mother treats her no better than a servant. Like a cat toying with a shrew, she doesn’t miss an opportunity to dig her claws in and ridicule her daughter, taking advantage of her willingness and desperation to please.

When Rosie happens upon a situation that she wishes for all the world she could unsee, she is drawn deeper into the sordid and unsavoury parts of her mother’s secret life. Rosie soon becomes more than just her servant—she becomes her confidant, her accomplice, and her alibi. And having finally achieved what she always dreamed of, Rosie must now decide if the price is really worth paying, as she finds herself teetering on the precipice of a moral conflict that threatens the very fabric of her family life.

After leaving school, she begins to find some meagre crumbs of hope in a new job as a trainee nurse at the local hospital. Her hardworking ethic and resilience, finally garnering recognition from an unlikely source in the shape of the universally feared matron - better known as The Terrier - but even this cannot provide escape from the torments of her home-life.

However, upon reaching her lowest ebb, a new patient arrives in bed no. 9. Falling off the back of his motorbike and into her life, the confident and fast-living Teddy Miller sets his sights firmly on young Rosie. With the gift of the gab and his heart on his sleeve, Teddy always gets what he wants — and Rosie soon finds herself caught in an emotional, manipulative, and sometimes violent tug-of-war, in which it appears there can only ever be one loser.

Based on an incredible true story, Rosie recounts her traumatic life in a unique way, unlike any voice you will have heard before, with truly inspirational positivity that can only reaffirm your confidence in the tenacity of the human spirit to conquer all that life dares to throw at us.

Often beautiful, sometimes brutal, always page-turning ~ you have been warned.





Other Details:

• The historical biography is set post WW2 in a rural setting.
• The majority of the story takes place from 1945 through to 1985.
• Rosie’s journey ranges from Norfolk to Blackpool, to Mansfield.
• This version is a very large print paperback book for seniors and the visually impaired.
• This is a memoir style fiction book based on a true story. The character names and places have been disguised or changed in order to protect the identities of those involved.