Three Of Us

The marriage of George Jones and Tammy Wynette was hailed as a union made in honky-tonk heaven. And when little Tamala Georgette Jones was born in 1970, she was considered country music’s heir apparent. For the first four years of her life, Georgette had two adoring parents who showed her off at every opportunity, and between her parents, grandparents, older sisters, and cheering fans, Georgette’s feet seldom hit the ground. But as in every fairy tale, dark forces were just around the corner. Her parents fought, and George drank. George and Tammy divorced when Georgette was four, and it would be years before she understood just what that meant. The Three of Us is an honest and heartfelt look into the life of a broken family living in the glare of the public spotlight. Like so many of her generation, Georgette had to make sense of loving two parents who couldn’t love each other. With never-before-told stories about George and Tammy, it recounts Tammy’s descent into prescription pill addiction, her dependence on her fifth husband, George Richey, and her untimely death at the age of fifty-five. Georgette opens up about her broken relationship with her father and what it took for them to come back together. Lastly, Georgette discusses the ups and downs of her adult life: failed marriages, illness, an arrest, and now, an unexpected but thrilling career as a musician. The Three of Us is a story of both extreme privilege and great trials, of larger-than-life people with larger-than-life problems. Rich in country music history, it contains twists and turns, highs and lows, but in the end, it stands as an intensely moving tale of love, loss, heartbreak, and what it means to be a family.

***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*** 'A touching celebration of the beauty and endurance of female friendship. There is nothing mightier. Fact.' DAWN FRENCH The new novel from Ruth Jones, co-creator of Gavin & Stacey and author of the smash-hit, number one bestselling debut, Never Greener. Friends forever is a difficult promise to keep... Meet Lana, Judith and Catrin. Best friends since primary school when they swore an oath on a Curly Wurly wrapper that they would always be there for each other, come what may. After the trip of a lifetime, the three girls are closer than ever. But an unexpected turn of events shakes the foundation of their friendship to its core, leaving their future in doubt - there's simply too much to forgive, let alone forget. An innocent childhood promise they once made now seems impossible to keep . . . Packed with all the heart and empathy that made Ruth's name as a screenwriter and now author, Us Three is a funny, moving and uplifting novel about life's complications, the power of friendship and how it defines us all. Prepare to meet characters you'll feel you've known all your life - prepare to meet Us Three. ***** Praise for Us Three: 'A warm, smart, uplifting tale of true friendship.' BETH O'LEARY 'This novel oozes warmth and honesty. A big-hearted book that provides a cast of characters you'll lose your heart to.' ADELE PARKS 'I loved this brilliantly gripping depiction of the complexities of female friendship over the years. Love, betrayal, comedy and loss - Us Three has it all.' FIONA NEILL ***** Readers love Us Three: 'I love the way Ruth Jones writes. The relationship between the 3 friends is perfect and a wonderful book to read about friendship' 'I absolutely loved this so much. There were moments that made me cry and other moments that made me laugh.' 'Best book of the year so far. To sum it up I'd say "it was bloody lush"' ****RUTH'S BRILLIANT NEW NOVEL LOVE UNTOLD IS COMING SOON AND AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW****

A life lived in the shadows. A love that should never have been hidden. In the small town of Gawler, South Australia, the tang of cut grass and eucalyptus mingles on the warm air. The neat houses perched under the big gum trees on Church Street have been home to many over the years. Years of sprinklers stuttering over clipped lawns, children playing behind low brick walls. Family barbecues. Gossipy neighbours. Arguments. Accidents. Births, deaths, marriages. This ordinary street has seen it all. Until the arrival of newlyweds Thomas and Elsie Mullet. And when one day Elsie spies a face in the window of the silent house next door, nothing will ever be ordinary again... In Kim Lock's third novel of what really goes on behind closed doors, she weaves the tale of three people with one big secret; a story of fifty years of friendship, betrayal, loss and laughter in a heartwarming depiction of love against the odds. PRAISE FOR THE THREE OF US "Delightfully sweet and tender with moments of tragic poignancy, this is a wise and compelling Australian story with a vivid and tangible sense of time and place. I fell head over heels for Elsie, Thomas and Aida and was desperate for them to prevail against all odds on their tumultuous journey." NICOLA MORIARTY, author of The Fifth Letter "With great care and compassion for the lives and losses of human beings, Kim Lock artfully weaves this moving and surprising story of the simple complexity of relationships and how they shape us" SOPHIE GREEN, author the bestselling The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Bookclub "The Three of Us is a beautiful story about love against all odds. Heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measures." EMMA VISKIC, author of the award-winning Resurrection Bay

Winner of the J. R. Ackerley Award This is the story of three people: Julia Blackburn, her father Thomas and her mother Rosalie. Thomas was a poet and an alcoholic, who for many years was addicted to barbiturates; Rosalie, a painter, was sociable and flirtatious. After her parents were divorced, Julia's mother took in lodgers, always men, on the understanding that each should become her lover. When one of the lodgers started an affair with Julia, Rosalie was devastated; when he later committed suicide the relationship between mother and daughter was shattered irrevocably. Or so it seemed until the spring of 1999, when Rosalie, diagnosed with leukaemia, came to live with Julia for the last month of her life.

We are what we eat, as the saying goes, but we are also how we eat, and when, and where. Our eating habits reveal as much about our society as the food on our plates, and our national identity is written in the eating schedules we follow and the customs we observe at the table and on the go. In Three Squares, food historian Abigail Carroll upends the popular understanding of our most cherished mealtime traditions, revealing that our eating habits have never been stable—far from it, in fact. The eating patterns and ideals we’ve inherited are relatively recent inventions, the products of complex social and economic forces, as well as the efforts of ambitious inventors, scientists and health gurus. Whether we’re pouring ourselves a bowl of cereal, grabbing a quick sandwich, or congregating for a family dinner, our mealtime habits are living artifacts of our collective history—and represent only the latest stage in the evolution of the American meal. Our early meals, Carroll explains, were rustic affairs, often eaten hastily, without utensils, and standing up. Only in the nineteenth century, when the Industrial Revolution upset work schedules and drastically reduced the amount of time Americans could spend on the midday meal, did the shape of our modern “three squares” emerge: quick, simple, and cold breakfasts and lunches and larger, sit-down dinners. Since evening was the only part of the day when families could come together, dinner became a ritual—as American as apple pie. But with the rise of processed foods, snacking has become faster, cheaper, and easier than ever, and many fear for the fate of the cherished family meal as a result. The story of how the simple gruel of our forefathers gave way to snack fixes and fast food, Three Squares also explains how Americans’ eating habits may change in the years to come. Only by understanding the history of the American meal can we can help determine its future.

In Britain's darkest hour, an extraordinary community of women strives to protect the Home Front. When a plane crashes in the village, every one of their lives will change forever . . . PART FOUR in a brand new FOUR-PART serial from the creator of ITV's smash hit series, Home Fires. Can they prevail . . . While their men are at war the women of Great Paxford have fought hard to keep the home fires burning, but a new arrival threatens everything . . . Pat Simms has a secret she needs to keep, but the close scrutiny of her husband is near impossible to escape. Frances Barden has overcome every challenge these troubled times have thrown at her, but a new threat, one very close to home, has arisen. Steph Farrow made a vow, she promised to protect her farm and family while her husband was at war, but she never imagined this . . . Meanwhile, Teresa faces a tragedy she's powerless to stop. Even during the hardest times the women of the WI have prevailed, finding new love, happiness and purpose, but can they survive the enemy at their door? Don't miss any part of the story. Keep the Home Fires Burning - Part One: Spitfire Down! is available now. Search 9781785763588. The story's not over. An all-new novel is coming in 2018! To pre-order your copy now search 9781785764295. Perfect for fans of Call the Midwife, Granchester and Foyles War. If you adore the novels of Nadine Dorries, Diney Costello and Daisy Styles then this is an unmissable series for you.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1880.