- Published
Rachel Stone was five and her brother Ian was 10 when their mum and dad took them on a caravan holiday to Wales with the family next door.
asserted
mum → publish → family
They spent two fun-filled weeks together - but when they got home, each family split in half and swapped houses.
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family → spend → houses
Rachel and her mother Kay moved in with the neighbour Eddie and his daughter Alison.
asserted
Rachel → move → neighbour
Eddie's wife Irene and their daughter Dawn moved in with Rachel's dad Rex and her brother Ian.
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wife → move → dad
Rachel tells Dr Sian Williams, host of Radio 4's Life Changing podcast, of the trauma of her family being torn apart, the chaos that unfolded and how she has come to forgive her parents.
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she → tell → parents
Rachel and Ian had initially been delighted when a new family moved in next door.
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family → delight → ?
"We instantly hit it off, all four of us."
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We → hit → us
They were thrilled to be going on holiday together.
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They → thrill → holiday
Rachel remembers two caravans parked side-by-side and a trip up Mount Snowdon.
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Rachel → remember → Snowdon
But when it was time to go home, everything was mixed up - people were getting in the wrong cars.
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people → go → cars
Rachel remembers her mum leaning back from the passenger seat, saying: "'We're going to have a new family.
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We → remember → family
We're going to be living in number eight with Eddie and Alison.
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We → go → Eddie
Alison's going to be your new sister.
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Alison → go → ?
"And your dad and brother are still going to live in number 10.
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dad → go → number
And Auntie Irene and Dawn are going to live there.
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Irene → go → ?
And Dawn's going to be your brother's new sister."
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Dawn → go → ?
Rachel immediately felt "very panicked and afraid and upset" and says she started to cry.
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she → feel → ?
As the car rumbled along, she felt "bewildered, but also a little bit excited".
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she → rumble → ?
She liked Alison and had always wanted a sister.
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She → like → sister
That night, Alison let her sleep on her top bunk and the next morning the adults switched belongings between the houses in the Isle of Sheppey where they lived.
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they → let → Sheppey
Rachel says she felt very confused.
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she → say → ?
"You can't help but think that it's your fault."
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it → help → ?
Life at number 8, where Rachel now lived, was very different to number 10.
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Rachel → live → number
Her old house had been clean, whereas this house had "dog hair, greasy things, car things".
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house → have → hair
She describes her mum as "firm but fair" and very practical.
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She → describe → mum
Her stepdad Eddie "was never horrible to me, but I never called him dad.
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I → call → him
She also missed Ian desperately.
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She → miss → Ian
"I used to wait in the front garden for him to come home from school when I was a toddler."
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I → use → school
Rachel was seven when the two couples went to court together and got divorced.
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couples → go → court
They later married their new partners in separate low-key registry office ceremonies.
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They → marry → ceremonies
Rachel did not even know her dad had married Irene until she saw the wedding photo.
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she → know → photo
Her visits to her old home tailed off when she was about 11 or 12.
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she → tail → home
She says she found it difficult to go and visit her dad and did not get along with Irene.
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it → say → Irene
By the time we got to 13, she [Mum] said, 'it's not sustainable, [we] can't live like this".
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we → get → this
Rachel said school was her "escape".
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school → say → ?
She got good grades and became a teacher.
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She → get → grades
She got married and had two sons but is now separated and works as a business coach.
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She → get → coach
Throughout her life, Rachel's mother would never talk about the swap.
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mother → talk → swap
"I asked a lot of questions.
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I → ask → questions
She told me it was complicated."
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it → tell → me
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
