Salt Spring Island author Peter Freeman has created a story rich in descriptive prose and strong emotion with his novel The Worm Lady’s Daughter. It is set in the 1960s on the windswept dunes of Noosa Heads near Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.

His protagonist is nine-year-old Cheryl who lives with her mother, known simply as the Worm Lady. Together they scrape out a meagre living on the beach by harvesting beach worms and selling them as bait to visiting tourists and other fishermen.

But first they must gather fish heads from Ron, a local fisherman.

The book begins slowly as the author then takes his readers through the detailed process of finding the worms, with passages such as: 

The Worm Lady moved steadily along the sandbank, keeping parallel to the shore. She trailed the wired fish heads behind her, swishing them gently from side to side in a rhythmic motion. Some distance back, her daughter followed, mirroring her path. The child spotted a beach worm venturing cautiously from the safety of its tubular burrow. Hundreds of tiny, delicate legs along its segmented body propelled it forward, while its tentacled head swayed from side to side, sniffing the water in search of its next meal—a tantalizing scent of decaying fish….

Cheryl’s small hands always grasp the worm’s body with steady but gentle pressure. Her mother had taught her well because this was their livelihood. The captured worms are then placed in a canvas bag and when they have enough, they return home to their shack (known as a humpy) and prepare the worms to be placed in “honesty boxes” through the Noosa Woods Campground for tourists to buy them. Each box displays the price and a sign in bold lettering stating: BLACK THE RAVEN, BLACK THE ROOK, BLACK THE THIEF WHO ROBS THIS NOOK.”  

 

This was the strange, hard life of Cheryl and her mother and the reader is quickly immersed into this world. Cheryl was teased constantly by other children at school who call her “Germy Wormy” and tell her “You stink.” She tries desperately to befriend other children, but she is an independent person from a young age and well able to hold her own.

On occasion, her mother mysteriously leaves for Brisbane, supposedly to care for a sick friend. During those times, Cheryl is sent to stay with her mother’s friend, Joan, the manager of the local Laguna Guest House, where she gets by with Joan in her basement room. While there, she is also expected to work for Joan in the kitchen after attending school.

It’s not long before Cheryl suspects there is more to her mother’s past and her trips to Brisbane than she has been told, and here is where the story picks up and moves at a quicker pace. As Cheryl grows into a young woman, she tries to make sense of her feelings, her experiences and the secrets she is not being told. Then one night her world is devastated by violence, and she is quickly forced to leave her childhood behind. The traumatic experience remains with her.

There are many memorable characters in the novel who come in and out of Cheryl’s life and who become her guardian angels. There is the boy at school who befriends her, Anthony, her first love, who simply confuses her with his apparent affection. Her mother’s friend, Joan, who is like a second mother to her. The Scottish veterinarian, Charles who sees her potential and helps her reach it, Mrs. Dixon, the landlady who is a friend of Charles, Frank the bus driver, and Sgt. Zimmerman who appears to watch over her from a distance. Some of these people stay and some leave her, but all give her the gift of an unconditional love that enables her to reach her goals and become the strong woman she is destined to be. But her traumatic past is also destined to catch up with her.

For historical colour, the Australian-born author includes real life events, such as Cyclone Dinah and the beaching of a fishing boat. These add to the drama of Cheryl’s young life and her poignant story. Freeman also touches on other sensitive topics such as poverty, homosexuality, abuse, and strong working-class communities. Through all these happenings in her life, Cheryl manages to remain resilient, bolstered by her friends and the community where she now belongs.

After finally realizing why her friend Anthony cannot love her completely, she meets a stranger named Geoffrey on a train, and they become friends and enjoy each other’s company on the journey. 

The book’s final paragraph states that later: “…her fingers brushed against Geoffrey’s business card, sending a sudden rush of warmth through her. He’s getting to me….” But then the story jumps to an ending years later that was only hinted at. I would have liked to have known more about those in between years.

The author states that “while the story is grounded in Queensland’s past, it shares emotional and geographic resonances with coastal British Columbia,” where he now resides. 

The story is a testament to his obvious love of the ocean and nature and is a most enjoyable read.