Someone's Listening

Against the backdrop of the Cold War, comes a gripping and deeply moving story of family, love and betrayal. This is a story of one woman’s perseverance through hardship, loss and oppression, which takes the reader on an epic journey, moving from Bulgaria, through to Turkey and on to Australia. Was it something she said? Was it something she heard? Or was it her father’s dogged resistance to join the Communist Party that dealt a devastating blow on her tightly knit Bulgarian family. The war has ended but the Communist fist is slamming down hard. Lidia’s father, a respected doctor, is not backward in forecasting his disapproval for the new regime. He hits the newspaper with the back of his hand. ‘Who do they think they are, nominating themselves as our leaders? They’re just a bunch of lowbrow blockheads with barely enough brains to wield mops around a latrine.’ From the hall stand he pinches the front of his felt hat, and checks himself in the mirror. With a slight re-adjustment of the brim he picks up his small leather case and waves goodbye. Unbeknown at the time, the image of his farewell would leave an indelible mark. For on that December morning he disappears off a Sofia Street. With no reason given, Lidia’s remaining family is forcibly removed from their home and relocated to a remote northern village. Hope is all but lost until a farm worker befriends her. He dreams bigger than she dares imagine. He plans to escape to the West and convinces her to go with him. But freedom comes at a terrible cost. All too soon he awakens feelings never experienced, and caught up in the passion of the moment she makes a life changing decision. ----------- As a way to distract the thought of her impending loss Susan Mimram told her dying father this story of epic proportions. Each night, while the neighbourhood slept she wrote into the small hours of the morning in order to read him a few more pages. As the months rolled on it became a race to finish the final chapter before he was gone forever.