Rachel Anderson – författare

Grandmother''s Footsteps begins on the day the Second World War ends, seen through the eyes of the bewildered young Ruth. Mesmerised and terrified by the break-up of the wartime world she is so used to, scared by her mother''s disappearance to London in search of their absent father, she clings to the familiar world of her grandmother. Stick by me, Granny tells her, and you''ll be all right. But already Ruth''s exuberant mother has other plans for the family - a move to London and a succession of wild schemes that bring constant change and upheaval, opening and closing new horizons and leaving young Ruth feeling always - as the years go by - adrift. Except, that is, in the safe, sure haven of her grandmother''s life.

''Throughout the years that Veritas has spent trying to rear me, there''s one essential truth she''s always stuck to. ''Love is stronger than mountains.'' My mother''s name meant truth. But could any of us trust her to tell the truth about our family?'' Can Ruth and her sister Mary discover lasting love for themselves amid the chaos of their large bohemian family? And what about their eccentric mother? Could they find a new love for her too? After the hardships of the 50s, how will any of them experience the new freedoms of the swinging 60s? As Ruth stands at the altar promising love to a young man till the end of life, under her breath she makes a vow: to set down everything of the past, the reality of a girlhood constantly touched by sadness, yet always profoundly secure.

Hamish is sensible, conscientious, and respectable, friends with the good boys, stays away from the bad ones. When his father is murdered in an act of random violence, Hamish''s world turns upside down. Angry and alienated, Hamish begins to lose his tolerant beliefs and is drawn towards racist reactions.A move to France promises a much needed new beginning, but only builds Hamish''s new attitudes as he becomes embroiled in the narrow-minded views of the locals. But then a boat of north-african refugees founders on the coast and Hamish encounters the sole survivor. Now his world is turned upside down again, caught between the violence of his past experiences and new realities unfolding in front of him.

Paper Faces by Rachel AndersonThe pale young soldier in the silver frame stared serenely out across the wide spaces of the kitchen with faraway forget-me-not eyes. Dot tried to remember her father''s face from the brownish photo which Gloria kept in her handbag. She wished she could recall it more clearly. Even when she had the picture in front of her, she seemed to only see the flat paper.

Bertram drives his bus every morning and afternoon for a very special crew. Some don''t talk, some can''t walk; everyone is different in some way or another. But in spite of the barriers that set these passengers apart, each one has his own or her own story to tell.For Rebecca, even though she won''t be able to wear her pink bridesmaid''s dress, the most exciting event of the year is her beloved sister''s wedding. Micky, trapped in a crumpled body and unable to speak, tells of his desire to be independent and his frustration with the suffocating love of his mother. Jonathan wants more than anything in the world to be useful—and gets his chance one day in church. Fleur, quiet and pretty, has an astonishing reserve of inner strength. Her story reveals how she came to be loved by a family who accepts her as she is. The Bus People by Rachel Anderson is an unusual collection of stories about mentally handicapped children, told with great sensitivity and humor by an author who is herself the mother of a mentally handicapped child.