Alison's Story, a semi-autobiographical account of the author's first thirty years, begins in the dark days of World War II. She was only two weeks old when the telegram arrived from the Admiralty advising that her father had been lost at sea.
She recounts frankly a childhood with her outspoken mother, and stepfather Roger, in a moving and often humourous way. Her teenage years are set against a comfortable, yet unconventional family life.
Alison's determination to succeed and live life to the full, see her in a variety of challenging careers, living and working abroad, including Germany, where she meets and marries an American soldier who takes her to a new life in the U.S.A. On the breakdown of the marriage she returns to the U.K. and a career as an airhostess.
Alison's Story is told in an honest and very amusing style, which takes us up to the mid-1970s, when she faces a fresh challenge.