Books

The Evolution of Sarah – A novel by Elizabeth Sinclair

SARAH takes the reader back to her beginning—to  her parents who live in 1940’s industrial Scotland and their eventual move to one of the UK’s emerging new towns. Sarah the child, has a keen curiosity and a desire to make some kind of splash. She is not, however, encouraged by her parents who are more inclined towards drinking and carousing. The climax of Sarah’s childhood, is when she breaks free from the psychological stranglehold of trying to be one of the cool kids—an experience which reverberates through her life.

Miserable at home, she is desperate for independence. In her late teens, she returns to Scotland, and eventually marries Mark It is with Mark that she first sees New Lanark and learns of its founder, a leader of the Scottish Enlightenment. Her commute brings her into contact with a woman who is a regularly beaten by her husband. The outrage Sarah feels, coupled with a sense of impotence fuels her ambition to engage in work of social significance.

Her marriage to Mark does not last and through dint of hard work, she qualifies for Edinburgh University and the study of law. She has a chance to appreciate the City and the entertainment provided by the faculty.

Sarah meets Ian a semi-homeless, charming, smart scoundrel and has a baby, Nathan. Early in the relationship, she learns the truth about Ian’s troubled family history of abuse and incest. Supporting Ian appeals to Sarah’s suppressed notions of herself as a hero—which she has held within since childhood. However, her dreams of becoming a lawyer, evaporate. She eventually warms to a new engagement with social justice.

When a colleague of Ian’s invites them to think about moving to British Columbia, she embraces the chance for a fresh start. In Canada, she makes friends with a woman, SIMONE who acts as her mentor while troubles in her marriage haunt her. Continuing the pattern of nothing really lasting and as a test of her tenacity, Ian shocks Sarah with a revelation that hits her like a thunderbolt—he is gay. Simone and her therapist Bernice, encourage her to become the hero in her own story.

At the same time, Nate gets into serious trouble with the law and they only reunite after a period of estrangement and after he has become an addict. Just as she has finds a new balance, her cousin Colin, tells her that her mother is on life support. The circle of the story is completed and Colin becomes the person with whom she muses about the meaning of life. At the close he drives Sarah to New Lanark and comments on her resilience. In reply, she ventures that you have to be at peace with being alone in order to be resilient.

To purchase a copy of Sarah if your live in Canada see the side bar.

If you live outside of Canada please contact me