Lorna Wood

Still Waters Run Deep Lorna Wood

This collection of intertwining stories begins in the 1940s; they tell of a wandering child in search of something better; a teenage girl living without fear, expecting to be safe - until she wasn't, and a young woman out of her depth, struggling to survive.

After choosing the wrong partner, Lorna had three children: they were her greatest love, but also, her greatest challenge. Her firstborn had an intellectual disability and autism, and she spent a lifetime trying to understand him and others like him. She and her children escaped from a dangerous, alcohol-fuelled violent marriage and she became the sole provider for her three children. She studied part-time, as a mature-aged student; attained a bachelor's degree and devoted more than 30 years to employment in the helping professions. Her trekking in the Himalayas and working at Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta consolidated her positive experiences and enabled her to develop a belief in herself.

Lorna does not forget the many strangers and their small acts of kindness, all of which enabled her to overcome diversity and restore her balance.

Without her dad's commitment to her well-being, this story may never have been told.

Her final message is: The past is behind us, it is what we do today, that matters.