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More than just Coincidence
The remarkable story of how a mother and daughter were reunited in one astonishing twist of fate
Julie Wassmer
Harper NonFiction
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
First published by HarperTrue 2010
© Julie Wassmer 2010
Julie Wassmer asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
‘It’s Your Thing’, words and music by O’Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley and Rudolph Isley © 1969, reproduced by permission of EMI Blackwood/EMI Music Publishing Ltd, London W8 5SW
‘Days’, words and music by Ray Davis © 1968 DAVRAY MUSIC LTD & CARLIN MUSIC CORP, London NW1 8BD—all rights reserved—used by permission
While every effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright material reproduced herein and secure permissions, the publishers would like to apologise for any omissions and will be pleased to incorporate missing acknowledgements in any future edition of this book.
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Source ISBN: 9780007354313
Ebook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2010 ISBN: 9780007354320 Version: 2017-05-04
For my family
Margie and Bill
Sara
Caden and Tallulah
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—Itook the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.
‘The Road Not Taken’ Robert Frost
Table of Contents
Chapter One Black Plimsolls Tied With Ribbon
Chapter Three By Hope, By Work, By Faith
Chapter Four Rebel Without a Cause
Chapter Ten A Clock Stops Ticking
Chapter Thirteen 18 Jermyn Street
Chapter Fourteen Three O’Clock at the Pagoda
Chapter Fifteen Emotional Journeys
Close to the sea, near my home, I have a small wooden beach hut, where I spend long summer days with my husband, daughter and grandchildren. It is also the place where I write. Sometimes there is little more to distract me than the cry of seagulls and the turning of the tide. Sitting on the verandah, looking out at the horizon, I have a sense of completeness and calm, of everything being just as it should be. It is a feeling that eluded me for so long. Wherever I went, and however happy I was, I knew that within me there was an empty space. I was sure that one day the missing piece would be restored, but until then my heart would never be quite whole.
As a television scriptwriter I have countless plotlines to my credit but still none so extraordinary as the drama I experienced in my own life almost twenty years ago: an apparent coincidence so remarkable that many people have been compelled to search for more complex explanations as to how it could have happened.
Certainly it is hard to believe that