Published 23rd July 2015 by Inspired Quill.
From the cover of the book:
At fifteen, she made a life-changing decision. Thirty years on, it’s time to make another.
When Diana escaped her misfit childhood, she thought she’d chosen the easier path. But the past lingers on, etched beneath her skin, and life won’t be worth living if her secret gets out.
As an adult, she’s kept other people at a distance... until Simon sweeps in on a cloud of promise and possibility. But his work is taking him to Cairo, the city that transformed her life. She’ll lose Simon if she doesn’t join him. She’ll lose herself if she does.
Sugar and Snails describes Diana’s unusual journey, revealing the scars from her fight to be true to herself.
A triumphant mid-life coming-of-age story about bridging the gap between who we are and who we feel we ought to be.
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Diana had a difficult childhood: never quite happy with the person she was, she considered herself something of a misfit, a feeling that has followed her into adulthood - despite making a decision at fifteen-years-old that had a huge impact on the course of her life.
Thirty years later, she has finally met a man called Simon who she thinks she can be happy with, but opening herself up to a relationship also means sharing the secrets she has kept hidden for much of her life. It doesn't help that this man only sees a future for their relationship if she follows him on his sabbatical to Cairo - a city inextricably tied to the event that changed her life at fifteen, and one that she has no wish to set foot in again.
Can Diana find the courage to confront her demons and allow herself some happiness, or will following Simon to Cairo be too much for her to bear? Time for some big decisions...
I rarely find myself with such a dilemma in writing the review for a book that has impressed me as much as this one has, which is rather frustrating as I want to tell you all about how good it is. The blurb on the cover really does not prepare you for what lies within these pages, and as much as I would like to wax lyrical and delve into the way Anne Goodwin writes so beautifully about the affecting themes brought up in this story, the fear of spoilers prevents me.
So what can I tell you? This is a book about family, identity, working out where you fit in the world, and finding the courage to be open with others about who you are and what you want from life. It would seem that Diana should have found her answers at fifteen, when her life changed for ever, but actually her existence has been one limited by fear. She does not really come-of-age until she reaches forty-five and realises she has finally been given the opportunity to live her life as she wants to - if she is brave enough.
In effect, this book is a mystery story told in two timelines as we follow the threads of Diana's difficult childhood and adolescence in the past, and what happens in the present once she meets Simon. It takes some time for you to discover Diana's secrets, but the story is so perfectly constructed that at exactly the point when you put the pieces together and understanding dawns, all that has been hidden is now openly acknowledged in the text. It's almost surreal how well this works, and I am not sure I have ever seen this pulled off quite as brilliantly as Goodwin does in this story, with her cleverly sprinkled trail of breadcrumbs leading to a picture of such sudden clarity that all the theories you have previously been toying with are instantly dispelled and you wonder how you did not see the truth all along.
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