In 1994 my mother, Carmen Browne, was admitted to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, UK, seriously ill. As she slowly recovered I realized that had she died so too would the chance of my finding out about her past, her family in Jamaica and, of particular importance to me, who my father was information she had resolutely refused to share with me. So I decided to find out for myself.My first discovery was that my mother’s real name was Olga Browney, born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica and one of eleven children from a close-knit, coloured Catholic family. A kind, naïve and gentle girl, my mother arrived in London in 1939, to stay with a malevolent, alcoholic aunt and intending to stay for only six months. However, world events, personal tragedy and malicious intent all combined to prevent her from returning home to Kingston.Written in the form of diary entries and letters, ‘Olga – A Daughter’s Tale’ is based on a true story about cruelty, revenge and jealousy inflicted on an innocent young woman and about her moral courage, dignity, resilience and, in particular, love.‘Olga – A Daughter’s Tale’ is about heritage, identity and belonging and set in Jamaica and London between the years of 1900 and post war England of the 1950s.It is the story of a remarkable woman who, because of circumstances, made a choice which resulted in her losing contact with her beloved family in Jamaica. That is until nearly half a century later when her past finally caught up with her.
