STRANGER ON THE SHORE - John Symons

‘Stranger on the Shore’ [Shepherd-Walwyn; £12.95] by local writer John Symons could easily be mistaken for another story of a family with little of interest to anyone outside that close group. Not so. It tells the tale of a family and one member in particular – the author’s father, so typical of those who gave so much in the last century, rising from the grinding poverty of Cornish fishing villages to a career in the Army, mostly in India. The slow, probably too slow, rise through the ranks; eventually becoming commissioned as an officer and leaving the Army after the War as a major. However, there is a shadow hanging over every page - the family is cursed with Huntingdon’s disease - a cruel, degenerative, and genetic, brain condition which had torn through the family removing many of its members well before their time. 

Of course at that time, little was known about the disease, indeed, while reading the book there was a feature on BBC Radio Four’s Today about developments in research on it. Find it here.

Rather than becoming self-pitying, it is written so well that this tale is inspiring. The author can write with great depth and beauty, he casts a shadow without becoming morbid. We are drawn to his family and do care for them. There are two particularly poignant pieces; the realisation that on the boat trip home from India after the war, at the height of his father’s career and powers was the first outward manifestation that something might not be right. The second was when his mother, suffering a crisis when realising that only decline would follow for her husband, used the stoic words of the Queen, when as a little girl her life was changed by her father’s unexpected accession to the throne: “We must make the best of it.”

It is a classic story of triumph over adversity and the faith that helps the family come to terms with the cruellest twist of fate. A hugely rewarding read.