When Gillian Herbert dug through a file of old family papers she launched a journey of exploration. Flipping through faded photos she recalled in raw black and white detail the moments that shaped her relationship with her parents. Skilfully crafted scenes from her youth reveal how illness, disability, and war combined with parental hopes, fears, and delusions to define her family. Herbert re-enters her experience as a child and young adult to present the stories from a youthful perspective, while steadily chipping away at the hard rock of her beliefs to reveal what her younger self could not see—the cost of keeping her father’s secrets. British understatement adds power to unsettling discoveries that sweep both writer and reader from Canada to England to Egypt and back to England. So pour a cup of tea, as the Herbert family so often did, and consider the depth in Spare Scenes.

Spare Scenes

Herbert, Gillian P.

Parenting & Relationships

Word Project Press

"These linked stories trace a lesbian's progress through the slowly changing face of homophobia in our lifetimes. From illegal lives filled with potential violence to the superficial equality that masks lingering prejudice, Gillian Herbert speaks bravely and honestly about one of the great issues of our time and how it impacted one woman's life. This is a vital record that must never be forgotten."
- Judith Barrington, author of Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art.
"Gillian Herbert's short, powerful story reads so accurately to the times she and I lived through that it is an almost necessary book for younger LGBTs. It really was this tough being gay in the 60's; worse for women, and even worse for butch lesbians. She's a remarkable survivor and her book is a knockout."
- Felice Picano, author of the award-winning memoir Nights at Rizzoli

Stark Truths: Living on High Alert

Gillian P Herbert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Herbert, Gillian P.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Herbert, Gillian P.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Herbert, Gillian P.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Spare Scenes

Stark Truths: Living on High Alert