Beyond the Storm. Diana Finley

      

       About the Author

      Diana Finley was an ‘army child’, the youngest child of her British officer father and Jewish Viennese mother, who met in Palestine during World War 2. Diana was born in Germany, where her father was posted after the war. The family moved to London during the Sixties. At eighteen, Diana spent nearly a year living with nomadic people in a remote part of Afghanistan – a life-changing experience.

      Back in England, Diana got a job for Macdonald Educational, writing and editing information books for children. On their honeymoon, she and her husband found a small house high in the hills of Northumberland, and decided to move their lives there from London. The north east of England has been their home ever since.

      Diana trained as a Speech and Language Therapist at Newcastle University, and worked for many years in Northumberland, specialising in supporting autistic children and their families. In 2009 she published a professional book on autism.

      In 2011 Diana completed an MA in Creative Writing with distinction, which helped to forge her decision to return to her first love of writing, and become a full-time writer. The Loneliness of Survival, her first book, drew loosely on the experiences of her parents, but it is written as a novel and not a memoir. It was published in 2014 by Indigo Dreams, a small independent publisher. Her second book, Finding Lucy was published by HQ at HarperCollins in 2018. HarperCollins are currently re-publishing The Loneliness of Survival under the new title of Beyond The Storm.

      For more about Diana’s work visit www.dianafinley.com or find her on Facebook (@DianaFinleyAuthor) and Twitter (@diana_finley).

       Praise for Diana Finley from readers:

      ‘A thought provoking read’

      ‘Couldn’t put this book down’

      ‘I found myself eagerly turning the pages’

      ‘An enthralling tale of love, hatred, secrets and joy’

      ‘I absolutely drank it all in and wished there was more’

      ‘Captivating from beginning to end … the characters were beautifully drawn’

      ‘Diana Finley is perceptive in her character building and of domestic and everyday situations’

      Beyond The Storm

      DIANA FINLEY

      HQ

      An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

      First published as The Loneliness of Survival,

      This edition published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019

      Copyright © Diana Finley 2019

      Diana Finley asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      E-book Edition © October 2019 ISBN: 9780008348335

      Version: 2019-07-31

      Table of Contents

       Cover

      About the Author

      Praise for Diana Finley from readers:

       Title Page

       Copyright

       Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

       Chapter 7

       Chapter 8

       Chapter 9

       Chapter 10

       Chapter 11

       Chapter 12

       Chapter 13

       Chapter 14

       Chapter 15

       Chapter 16

       Chapter 17

       Chapter 18

       Acknowledgements

       Extract

       Dear Reader …

       Keep Reading …

       About the Publisher

       To my parents

       Chapter 1

      2014

      She squeezes her eyes tight shut and then opens them wide. As on other mornings, she wonders if perhaps she is dead, and exactly how she would know. The sun has not fully penetrated the maroon silk curtains, but creates a rosy pinkness in the gloom of the bedroom, which could be taken as heaven. A moment later the clatter of the drinks trolley in the corridor convinces Anna that it is not heaven, and that she is still alive. She remembers that today is her hundredth birthday.

      The continuous preparations have become more than a little irritating, but she’s tried to keep quiet, to accept it in good humour. Tomorrow is the great day, they kept reminding her, making a ridiculous fuss about it. As though one day makes such a difference, even this day. Doreen had done her usual ‘popping in’ and asking if Anna was excited. She said yes she was, just to please her.

      ‘But don’t make too many advance preparations. After all, I might die in the night.’

      ‘Anna! Honestly, shame on you!’

      ‘There’s no shame in death. What a waste of effort it