Fred's Funeral

A Novella Based on True EventsHis family said he was shell-shocked. The asylum’s doctors disagreed. It’s 1986 and Fred Sadler has just died of old age. It’s seventy years since he marched off to the war in France, young and raring to go. He put everything on the line for his country and family, but when he came home, they rejected him. This is why Fred can’t rest in peace. His ghost hovers near the ceiling of a dismal nursing home. To Fred’s dismay, the arrangement of his funeral has fallen to his prudish and loathed sister-in-law, Viola. As the family gathers to pay their respects on a rainy October night, memories of Fred’s childhood, his family’s hotel, the War, and the mental hospital, clash with Viola’s version of events. A distressed Fred eavesdrops as Viola dominates the reminiscences of him. From the parlour curtains, Fred’s ghost agonizes over his inability to set the record straight. Did Fred really suffer from shell-shock? Why lock him away in the Whitby Hospital for the Insane? After serving in the war, didn’t he deserve to pursue a life of freedom and happiness? All Fred knows is this is not the story he would tell. You’ll love this stirring family drama, because everyone has a relative whose life is worth remembering. Get your copy now.