description: I could have been born and raised in Africa. But my spirit was in too much of a rush to be reincarnated... At six weeks I was chucked out into the new year of 1965 which wasn't prepared to welcome an African baby, abandoned on a harsh English winter's day. So begins Pauline's spirited and moving story of her childhood and teenage years in and out of foster homes and dentention units, and back and forth to Dr Barnardo's Village in Essex. Her Barnardo's family was ruled by an unlikely trio - Aunty Claire, a born again Christian; her laconic husband, the Polish Uncle Boris; and the cook, Aunty Morag. And, of course, other kids orphaned or abandoned like Pauline. Woven into this feisty, quirky account are Pauline's angle and spirit companions - Sparky, Annabel and the snake - who play havoc helping her to survive in the real world. Another important presence is her mother whom she calls Wumni and with whom she goes to live in a London highrise. Wumni's method of refashioning Pauline into a dutiful African child is literally to knock the English out of her. But survive she does...
language: English
title: Borrowed Body
titlecomplete: Borrowed Body
genres: Fiction
ratings_count: 25
publisher: Serpent's Tail