AJ Taft, author of ‘Our Father Who Art Out There…Somewhere’ a novel inspired by her own search for a father who left home on the day she was born will be at the Harrogate branch of Waterstones on Sat 25th Feb from 11am as part of a tour of Yorkshire towns.
Alison said:
My father run off the day I was born. I grew up with a sense that something was missing and a deep desire to find out who my father was.
In her mid thirties, Author, Alison decided to use a family tracing service to track down her father. They replied saying that although they had managed to contact him, he had written to say he had no wish to be contacted.
Frustrated by his response Alison put pen to paper to write about her feelings but soon a novel grew from the pages. ’Our Father Who Art Out There…Somewhere’ explores what happens when Lily Appleyard goes off in search of her father and rejected, plots a plan of revenge which includes kidnapping a half-sister she never knew she had.
Alison’s novel takes a blackly humorous look at the situation but she knows that for many the the search for a missing parent can be filled with a mixture of emotions.
Alison added:
At the time I was very angry. I felt I was owed the chance for one meeting, to discover information about my heritage. I was so angry I considered suing him for some kind of breach of contract – he was supposed to parent, he didn’t, kind of thing. Apparently that’s not possible.
The novel examines what happens when the two half sisters meet, discover each other and find out their father has lied to them their whole lives.
Alison’s book raises serious parental issues: “If I buy a T-shirt and it has a hole in it, I have the right to seek amends. If I climb up a drain pipe to burgle someone’s house and the drain pipe gives way, I have the right to seek amends. If I have a father who fails utterly, I have no rights at all. There is no protection or sense of redress for children abandoned by a parent.” Alison said. “It’s time for a change in the law.”
Alison will be at the Harrogate branch of Waterstones on Sat 25th Feb from 11am signing copies of ‘Our Father Who Art Out There…Somewhere’
