Whatever Next!

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Some of what my grandmother tried to teach us seemed outdated and formal to us, but most of the core values and behaviors stand the test of time. The admission of being a survivor of domestic abuse is very powerful, but the rest of the story has already been told in the first book. She continued to sail alone into her 80s, deeply identifies as an author, and comes across as candid, hilarious, loyal, generous, and lively. What I didn’t care for: this follow-up didn’t read as well as her first novel which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Despite the vast differences in our backgrounds, I felt like Anne was a kindred spirit in many ways. The second contradiction is in the chronology of how old her twin daughters were when they found out their brother Henry was HIV positive— this one was on facing pages which I read over twice not quite believing what I was seeing. covers some of the same ground as Lady in Waiting, but the tone is much darker, especially about her marriage to Colin Tennant. Friends mean well, but they tend to sympathize and tell you you're right to be so upset and egg you on to feel wronged.When my friends asked me about Colin’s behaviour, or Princess Margaret and I swapped stories about our difficult husbands, it seemed much healthier to laugh about it all. To sum up, it is an audiobook turned into a book, more like a storyteller being recorded in writing, and it was such an uplifting most of it.

She also mentions that separate bedrooms and bathrooms had been such a help -- "I found it easier to play the role of Colin's wife to an acceptable standard when I had a space of my own to retreat to, however briefly. She wraps up with some life advice: "Joy is always waiting for us somewhere in life, even in our darkest moments and often in the most surprising of ways, and that embracing life in all its strangeness has so much good to offer . We had to put others first, but not to the extent of becoming doormats in our dealings with the world.At one book event in Norwich, the interviewer said she was struck by how I sat straight and didn’t lounge. I might find it harder to get in and out of clothes, especially a tight jersey, but I jolly well do it even if it’s not as easy as it used to be. The people I was talking to all seemed to be the size of postage stamps, and I could hardly see them. I did have to admire the way she "stuck it out" in her marriage, although I think this was more due to the expectations of society and the class she was born into than any religious beliefs. She was much more open in this book about her husband and their relationship that she was in Lady in Waiting.

There is a difference, I think, between facing problems and allowing oneself to be overwhelmed by them, though that can be a difficult line to tread. Some letters are forwarded to me by my publisher, but quite often they come addressed to ‘Lady Glenconner, The Farmhouse, Norfolk. Of course I did suspect already her husband was abusive, reading how hard it actually was and that Colin trashed her once to the point she lost her hearing on one ear was.Anne and Colin found their salvation in living more or less independently, and I was happy for her that this worked out.

It as a fast read and at times a superficial one - I would of welcomed a more in-depth look at her life and adventures.I learned a lot about stiffening one’s spine and getting on with it from Princess Margaret and I’m very grateful to her for that. Use WordArt (or a paint program) to create eye-catching examples of words linked to onomatopoeia (like ‘Whoosh’ and ‘BUMP’). In this volume, she discusses her marriage in more detail, including, sadly, the extent of her late husband's physical cruelty to her.