Pebble on the Beach by Tony Diamond, Queenspark Publishers

‘Pebble on the Beach’ by Tony Diamond, Queenspark Publishers, England. 2006 By Tony Diamond

‘ Pebble on the Beach’ is Tony Diamond’s memoir of his wretched English childhood – one of abuse, abandonment, deceit, institutionalisation, and electric shock treatment at the age of ten which left him an epileptic. When 15, in order to escape his intolerable family situation, he took the opportunity through Bernado’s to ‘start a new life’ in Australia, a huge mistake which lead him to being a stow -away within 12 months. Born in southern England in the aftermath of World War 2, Tony Diamond, who was born Anthony Roy Bates, is one of a family of ten children, three of whom were adopted.Tony is a natural story teller whose facility with language enables him to take the reader with him on his journey through life. At one level his memoir reads like a ‘boy’s own adventure story’, as he describes with humour and vividness the mischief-making in his childhood and the escapades of his youth. However, at another level it is a very moving account of the adversities and disappointments of his life which he tells with such pathos and candor, and much reflection. This is a very well-researched work and the author has included much documentary evidence about aspects of his life. It is a remarkable achievement considering Tony is ‘not a reader’ - as he is a diagnosed dyslexic with minimal education. This engrossing, personal tale deserves to be read as it is a true account of a very resilient and optimistic man who has survived ‘against all the odds’.

Reviwed by Mary