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Story Behind The Book
Synopsis – When Spirits Break Free by Andy Evans & Vesna Kovac Billy’s birth is sudden and premature. Unbeknown to his mother Molly, the cancer riddled, morphine-fuelled Doctor Foster dies en route to the birth. Through a haze of pain and fatigue she is convinced the doctor is present as her baby inhales his very first breath. Family members present at the birth dismiss this as being the product of her overworked and stressed imagination. During his childhood years Billy often seems in another world, distancing himself from the other children. One terrifying night Molly sees a spirit of an old lady in her son’s bedroom. Taking matters into her own hands she employs a cassette recorder and attempts to record proof of the mysterious apparitions frequenting the shadows of the family home. The audio recordings reveal the truth - Molly picks out the distinctive voice of an elderly lady. Roger, Billy’s father, a staunch traditionalist, refutes the voice captured by the recorder, dismissing it immediately. Billy’s troubles finally come to a conclusion and Roger is forced to accept the nature of his wife’s concerns when Billy suffers a seizure. The medical profession suspects a culmination of deep fear and shock. What they fail to diagnose is Billy’s out of body episode - his spirit finally breaking free from the chains shackling him to his earthly misery. Shaken by the incident Roger instigates a fresh start, blaming his urge to provide for his family and their home’s unworldly atmosphere for his son's illness. The house is sold and a new beginning dawns. Shadows withdraw and Billy finally forges relationships with locals his own age. Around his peers Billy is introduced to cannabis and hallucinogenic mushrooms. With his mind stimulated by the use of the recreational drugs, Billy’s dreams become entwined with reality. Drug induced psychosis is the professional prognosis; the spirits from his childhood have again returned without restraint into the land of the living. Billy finally follows the family tradition, beginning work at the local coal mine. Tragedy unfolds as Mother Nature finally retaliates against what has been taken from her for centuries. Without warning, gallons upon gallons of water are unleashed when the coal cutting machine breaches an underground lake. One by one the miners fight for survival is lost and death welcomes them with open arms. As water engulfs Billy in its icy grasp, all seems lost. Sunlight and sheer beauty replace blackness as Billy looks into the eyes of the man standing before him. The same doctor that brought him into the world of the living now carries him into the realms of the dead.
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<div class="mt4 ath"><span class="gr10"><span class="txtsmall"><font size="2"><span class="gry"><font color="#666666">By</font></span> </font><a class="noTextDecoration" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/pdp/profile/A22LZFP0WV5BLG/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp"><font color="#004b91" size="2">Simon Swift</font></a></span> </span></div> <div class="txtsmall mt4 fvavp"><span class="inlineblock avpOrVine"><span class="orange strong avp"><strong><font color="#e47911"></font></strong></span></span> </div> <div class="mt9 reviewText"> <div class="drkgry">A beautiful piece of work. The gritty backdrop of the Yorkshire mining town provides a great setting for this most skilled of writers to weave his magic. As a Yorkshireman myself, the history of coal mining is fascinating. But then you become drawn in to a thriller that is not what you expect at all. The unexpected in this case is thrilling! Billy's journey is both haunting and magical. When the spirits Break Free is highly recommended! </div></div>