The Train Back

field of human relations. In a series of flashbacks it tells the story of Pat Chapman's life as she remembered, wrote and recounted it to her friend, Leila Berg (who is the editor). Mrs Chapman was turned out of her home at the age of fourteen and was moved from one training or penal institution to another. In a search for affection she married a man who was later diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Her son, Ricki, and the events leading up to his conviction for manslaughter also feature prominently in the story. She eventually traced her parents, and the final chapter gives an account of their meeting. From her earlier confusion and helplessness a person of intelligence and integrity, with a capacity to give and show warmth, emerges. Nowadays it would not be quite so easy for parents to 'lose' or discard all responsibility for their children as Mrs. Chapman's parents lost her. But an increased understanding of how people feel in such a situation