The House That Sat Down Trilogy by Alice May
The House That Sat Down Trilogy: Omnibus Edition
Packed with humorous observations about what it is like to live in a tent in your garden with your husband and four children after a significant part of your house falls down out of the blue one day, this story takes you from the depths of despair right through to the satisfying heights of success against the odds, with lots of tea and cakes on the way.
Follow this crazy family as they cope with disaster in their own truly unique and rather mad way, and celebrate each small triumph along the way with them.
Inspired by a true story, The House That Sat
Down Trilogy is a tale of triumph over tragedy. It is an astonishing account of
sudden, first-world homelessness in the heart of the New Forest, and the
unexpected consequences. Written entirely from a mother’s point of view,
following the collapse of her family's home, it is an uplifting and positive
read in spite of the subject matter, with a thread of wry humour throughout.
Follow this ordinary woman on an extraordinary journey of survival and self
discovery as she reels from disaster, before picking herself up and coming back
stronger and wiser than before.
Packed with humorous observations about what it is like to live in a tent in your garden with your husband and four children after a significant part of your house falls down out of the blue one day, this story takes you from the depths of despair right through to the satisfying heights of success against the odds, with lots of tea and cakes on the way.
Follow this crazy family as they cope with disaster in their own truly unique and rather mad way, and celebrate each small triumph along the way with them.
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An Extra Slice of Life from The House That
Sat Down
By
Alice May
I must confess that
when our house ‘sat’ down and we were living in a tent in our back garden, one
of the greatest emotions I experienced - other than abject fear, of course -
was one of utter failure. I hated my inability to protect the children from
what was happening. The cosy home that we had built for them was gone in such a
small space of time. I was left reeling, as if someone had literally pulled a
rug out from beneath my feet.
The inability to keep
a secure roof over our family was a pretty major parenting fail, whichever way
you looked at it. The shockingly sudden homeless situation we catapulted into was
confirmation to me that I simply wasn’t good enough; triggering a feeding frenzy
for my - already flourishing - impostor syndrome issues.
I have always loved
being a mum, but have never quite shaken the notion that somebody might appear,
out of the blue one day, to say – whoops we’ve made a mistake – you’re not
supposed to have these amazing young people in your life, they should have gone
to someone else; someone more deserving, more accomplished; someone kinder and
altogether better.
Thus, like any mother
bird, I became obsessed with creating a safe nest for my chicks.
At that time, one of
the many rustic features in our garden was a rather sweet little log cabin. We had
built it together as a family, from a pre-formed, fairly idiot-proof kit,
several years before. Due to our enthusiastic but inefficient amateur building
skills, it was a touch ramshackle but, given our precarious living circumstances,
we couldn’t afford to be fussy. I pounced on this facility with some degree of
enthusiasm, in spite of the fact that, in reality, it was little more than an
overgrown shed. Significant amounts of energy were then expended clearing out
junk, cleaning the interior and installing two small, double bedsteads with a mini
bedside cabinet jammed between them. With some fairy lights artfully draped
around the walls and swags of lacy net curtain over the window, it looked very
cute and cosy indeed.
I genuinely thought that
we had found an accommodation solution. In theory, the two boys could share one
bed and the two girls, the other.
Silly me!
Things didn’t quite
work out the way I had hoped and, with hindsight, I am not at all surprised.
Regardless of the fact
that we had spent all day creating this little haven, we had not calculated on
the children’s reaction, which was an obvious one. The two boys took one look
inside the cabin and silently listened to my suggestion that they share one of
the double beds, top and tail style – I know! It was a daft idea! – they
immediately voted with their feet, by returning to their sleeping bags in the
tent and refusing to budge.
The girls, at least
gave it a try, each claimed a bed – because there were, now, two available - and
they settled in for a late-night reading session.
Thus, I went to sleep a
tiny bit happier, in the mistaken belief that at least the girls were sorted.
It’s never a good idea to speak too soon. The strident screaming that disturbed
our slumbers the next morning, was certainly a change from being woken by the
dawn chorus but, on reflection, birdsong – no matter how early - is definitely the
better option.
The cabin, whilst cosy
and cute, had proven open to a fair degree of wildlife incursion overnight.
Poor Logic had woken up to find herself face to face with one of the largest
spiders she had ever encountered and this event triggered a predictably
panic-stricken reaction. In her defence, it was also one of the largest spiders
I’d ever seen. Not quite of terrifying tarantula dimensions, of course, but big
enough.
The poor creature -
just to be clear here, I am referring to the spider - was probably only curious
and, no doubt, totally terrified too. Nevertheless, it was too much of a shock for
our girls and in a very short space of time, the entire family were back to
sleeping in the tent all together. I couldn’t really blame them.
Ten out of ten for
effort goes to the girls for trying; zero out of ten for perfect parenting to
me.
Remember, if at first
you don’t succeed - try, try and try again!
I hope you enjoyed this - previously
unpublished - extra slice of life from The House That Sat Down.
Love Alice
Website: www.alicemay.weebly.com
The House That Sat Down
Trilogy by Alice May is available from Amazon amzn.to/2ZcZrKF
Including:
Accidental Damage – tales from The House
That Sat Down
Restoration – more tales from The House
That Sat Down
Redemption – moving on from The House That
Sat Down
Follow
Alice on social media via:
Facebook
@AliceMayAuthor
Twitter
@AliceMay_Author
Instagram:
alicemay_author_artist
YouTube:
alicemayartist
About the Author
I am a multi-tasking parent to
four not-so-small children, and I am fortunate enough to be married to
(probably) the most patient man on the planet.
We live in, what used to be, a ramshackle old cottage in the country.
Our house began to fall down out of the blue one day, which resulted in the
whole family living in a tent in the back garden for quite some time, while we
worked out how to rebuild our home.
A few years afterwards, I
decided to write a book and, once I started, I found I couldn’t stop.
Inspired by true-life events
‘Accidental Damage – tales from the house that sat down’ wouldn’t leave me
alone until it was written.
Within six months of
self-publishing my novel, I was delighted to learn that it had won two ‘Chill
with a Book Awards’. This was a massive honour and motivated me to continue
writing. Accidental Damage became the first book in a trilogy.
The Omnibus edition of all
three books in the House That Sat Down Trilogy is now available via Amazon in
both paperback and kindle format.
Social Media Links –
Website: www.AliceMay.weebly.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/AliceMayAuthor/
Twitter: @AliceMay_Author
Instagram: alicemay_author_artist
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