This is the true story of the first fifteen years of a boy's life - growing up in the coal mining communities of Scotland and England in the 1950s and 60s - and how he survives the adversities of that battleground.
The book is written on two levels; on the first level it is a compulsive, easy to read, true story. The protagonist's narration compels the reader's empathy as, from his earliest memory, he is beaten by a father who - subjected to the harsh existence of a coal miner, and frustrated by the betrayals of an unfaithful wife - vents his anger on him.
After suffering a nervous breakdown in his earliest childhood, Thomas endeavours to escape his father's tyranny and his mother's complacency, but in his search for a nourishing love he falls foul of situations he is ill equipped to deal with; often taking him into forbidden and dangerous areas.
At just five years of age he is introduced to sexuality by the two little girls next door, who were themselves sexually molested by their uncle. When he is only six years old, taking advantage of his doting love and trust, a grandfather repeatedly sexually assaults him; unhappily this is just the beginning.
Enduring the interminable beatings and psychological tribulations at home and facing the predators, antagonists and bullies in his immediate environment; will his inner courage, determination and indomitable sense of adventure carry him through? Surviving near death experiences and sexual misadventures, and in spite of all adversities, will Thomas manage to reach young adulthood, and still keep the balance of his mind?
On another level 'Surviving the Battleground of Childhood' is a relative mud map that invites the reader to compare his or her own childhood adversities and to see past them. Offering a framework that will perhaps, in spite of perceived ruination for life, assist those in need to be survivors, not just casualties - maimed remnants of the battleground - but real survivors.
'Surviving the Battleground of Childhood' will appeal to anyone who grew up during the 1950's and 60's, especially in the United Kingdom; and more specifically still, those who grew up in the working class areas during that era. Conversely, anyone with an adverse or traumatic experience in their childhood, or if they have been the subject of a physically and or psychologically abusive upbringing will relate to this book. However, the potential market for 'Surviving the Battleground of Childhood' is, quite literally, endless. It is a sometimes funny, often tragic but ultimately uplifting and entertaining story about growing up; most people - young, old and in between - will relate to it in some way, regardless of country, era or sociology.
A review by Cherrell Ward at 'New Book Review' for 'Surviving the Battleground of Childhood' can be found on NewBookReviews.org.
Our New Book Review: T.D. McKinnon's Surviving the Battleground of Childhood is inspirational reading! This narrative about his childhood is a revealing story about painful experiences and the everyday struggle to overcome serious challenges he faced as a child, and the strength he developed in becoming a survivor. McKinnon's frankness and fearless attitude are amplified by his ability to tell a story well! I give Surviving the Battleground of Childhood 4 ½ Stars! Cherrell Ward, NewBookReviews.org
'TEENAGE DEVIL' is also a true story. It is the continuing saga of Thomas, our protagonist from 'Surviving the Battleground of Childhood', and follows him into the British army.
At just fifteen years of age he swaps the coalmining community for Aldershot: home of the British Army. In order to escape the environment that bound him, our intrepid survivor joins the Parachute Regiment as a junior leader. The story continues as he struggles to negotiate with his new environment, as one of sixty new recruits, and then follows him as he continues to grow up through the second half of his teens, steeped in the elitism of the Parachute Regiment. Our hero encounters his fair share of adventures, and misadventures.
On one occasion, an old devil comes-a-calling - a predator, disguised in the form of a senior RAF officer - and Thomas decides to commit the ultimate sin: to take a life. Fully committing himself to the task, can he actually do it?
Searching for emotional validity, his trysts and affairs of the heart vary from fleeting, to sordid, to totally absorbing; until finally he meets the girl of his dreams. Holding on tight, for all he's worth, has Thomas finally found happiness? Or will it crumble, leaving him with a handful of dust and a sour taste in his mouth?
'TEENAGE DEVIL' is a sequel, but it stands on its own, dealing with a different set of, no less significant, moral issues. And it's still a story about growing up.
What is the picture you have of yourself? Everyone has an image of themselves; some keep that picture very private but everyone has one. Can you imagine any circumstance in which you might kill? And if you could, would that necessarily make you a bad person?
This is a story of tragedy, friendship, loyalty and enduring devotion; devastating treachery, betrayal, and murder most foul. Propelled by circumstance, John Farrell is taken on a rollercoaster journey from his coalmining community origins in County Durham to Aldershot, the home of the British army, and to war torn Belfast; from London to the poverty ridden streets of Mexico City; from inside the infamous Wormwood Scrubs, to the South of France, to Glasgow, the Scottish Highlands, Berlin and Bangkok.
Along the way, influenced by the evil men do, inadvertently it seems, John kills: in desperation, in fear, in anger, in ignorance accidentally. Does that make John Farrell a bad person? You decide!
Orphan, boxer, soldier, convict, writer, fighter, loyal friend, protector, loving family man and killer. Killing is something not only evil men do. This is the story of one man's love for his family and the lengths he is prepared to go to safeguard that family. It is about hope, courage and human endurance in the face of adversity.
Readers who enjoy a good thriller will love this compelling, character driven, gritty tale, and be able to relate to and empathise with its thoroughly believable if, by necessity, sometimes violent hero.
Heather Skye Wilson
In a world gone mad, seemingly, hurtling towards its own inevitable doom - I'm not describing some futuristic science fiction nightmare, but the here and now - it seems we have little choice but to accept our fate; 'God's will' some might say.
There is an existential alternative to man's downwardly spiralling destiny: one in which we take control; however, that means taking responsibility, complete responsibility; enter 'World Unity'.
A little later in this century, global warming has resulted in radical weather patterns, rising sea levels, changing land masses; where depletion of the ozone layer, a limited nuclear war, and the life force of the Earth itself hitting back have all contributed to the shifting of the Earth's axis.
In a world where the main three, separate ideals of 'the one God' - Islam, Christianity and Judaism - have almost entirely wiped each other out; taking control involves altering or rearranging mankind's basic belief structures about the nature of reality: accepting that we, individually and collectively, create and are responsible for our own reality. A world where equality is not just an ideal, a pipe dream; where mankind recognises that objective reality is an outcome and the direct result of the way we deal with subjective, inner realities.
A world where reincarnation is not a loosely hinted at, largely laughed at concept; but is accepted as a complex, intricate part of mankind's spiritual development. A world where a serious attempt is made to understand the 'Ego', its distortions - particularly in the male of the species - and its real purpose. A world where physical and psychic discoveries leave no doubt that we have been around, and in advanced civilisations, for many millions of years.
This story is told as seen through the eyes of Heather Skye Wilson, our protagonist, daughter of two of the worlds leading diplomats for 'World Unity', and begins with her abduction by terrorists when she is twelve years old. The traumatic experience brings Heather into a phase of psychic development that helps to save her life. Destined by her abilities, genetic heritage and inclinations Heather is drawn more and more into the 'World Unity' cause.
A lot of the action is centred around a newly settled land; a land that, until recent times, had been covered in massive ice fields since before Atlantis' final rise and fall: Antarctica. With the rebirth of the one God religions, a Messiah is born, and there is a very real danger that the planet will plunge, once more, into religious turmoil.
'Heather Skye Wilson and the TRILOGY OF THE ONE GOD', two survival stories rolled into one: Heather's and planet Earth's. Both inexorably linked; they both survive or nobody does.
Born in Scotland in 1950 and raised in the coalmining communities of Scotland and England, Thomas joined the British Parachute Regiment when he was fifteen years old. After spending five years in the British army he worked at a number of occupations including bus driver, furnace-man, builder's labourer, roofer, bouncer, storeman, car salesman, life guard, aquatics manager, private investigator and for many years he was in high risk security: event and venue security, close personal protection, cash and gem escort and armed, rapid response for a national bank group.
Training in the martial arts for most of his life and becoming a master in several forms he represented at national level, both in Scotland and Australia, and became a national referee. As well as teaching and instructing in the private sector, he taught at government and private schools; also in the corporate sector (security industry).
Thomas has a daughter who is a police sergeant in Portsmouth, England, a son who is a former World Kickboxing Champion and owns a prominent gym in Sydney, Australia, and a second son who is a current World Kickboxing Champion.
Whilst at school Thomas displayed a natural talent for writing, but it wasn't until the 1980s, after moving to Australia, that he began writing again. Initially writing for his own enjoyment, after having publications in the 'Letters to the Editor' columns of several Sydney newspapers, the inevitable, delayed budding of his writing career began. Following articles published in 'Impact, Blitz and 'Combat', martial arts magazines, and 'The Green Earth', an environmental newspaper, he began submitting short stories to various magazines e.g. 'Cosmopolitan', 'That's Life' etc.
Thomas is now writing full time and has completed 'Surviving the Battleground of Childhood', 'TEENAGE DEVIL', 'Evil Men Do', which he has also adapted as a screenplay, and 'Heather Skye Wilson and the TRILOGY OF THE ONE GOD'. A prolific writer, determined to make up for lost time, he has also started work on another project: 'The Caretakers', based on the true story of Trucanini, an aboriginal princes, and the genocide of the native Tasmanians.
A word from the author
I'd just like to say hello to the reading public out there, and I hope you enjoy 'Surviving the Battleground of Childhood'. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long for the sequel and my other works; I'll update you as we go. I presently live in Tasmania with my wife Zoë - third time around for both of us, so that's double the luck - who is a professional actor, singer and dancer, and is my mentor, my collaborator, my editor and 'ideal reader'.
click here. To order your copy of 'Surviving the Battleground of Childhood'.
Also available at Waterstone's in the United Kingdom and Angus & Robertson in Australia.
T.D.McKinnon is available for public speaking engagements.
T.D.McKinnon, PO Box 309 Devonport, Tasmania 7310, Australia