Hettie Ashwin

A STRANGE KIND OF PARADISE. A life worth living Hettie Ashwin

Can you navigate life when you don't have a reference point?




As a mother fades away through dementia, a daughter is caught in the emotional whirlpool.

They don't have a relationship that is close, but when there is no-one else what do you do?




As the daughter steers her way through her mother's gradual decline, there are times when she wonders who the woman really is and if she ever had a life beyond her husbands.

The course into the fog of memories is beset with obstacles. The mire of duty, the ebbing tide of regret and the undercurrent of resentment all conspire to open Pandora's box of emotions. And they don't know how to deal with emotions.

When her mother adopts a different persona, one that she quite likes, things escalate and it is a fine line between the exploitation of the situation and just trying to make someone happy.

'After all, that's what anyone ever tries to do. Make someone else happy.'




An epiphany isn't always welcome, but when it comes, the daughter sees her mother and the cruel twist of fate that threw them together a lifeline. The lifeline is a shared enjoyment of music. For isn't music just for the moment. And her mother lives for the moment.