Showing results by author "Terry Waite" in All Categories

Held captive from January 1987 to November 1991, for much of the time in solitary confinement, Terry Waite wrote his autobiography in his head. Here is his own heart-rending account of an existence robbed of companionship and of emotional, physical and mental stimulation. He describes how his recollections of life from childhood onwards helped him endure a life of monotony and fear in captivity and reveals the inner strengths, which enabled him to survive his captors’ often savage treatment.

Some people long to find it, others long to escape it. But, whether we welcome or dread it, solitude is something we all experience in different forms at different points in our lives. After enduring nearly five years of solitary confinement, in cruel and terrifying conditions, Terry Waite discovered that he was drawn to find out more about the power of solitude in the lives of other people. The result is this haunting book, in which he recalls his encounters with people who have experienced some very different ways of being solitary.

On a cold morning in Grimsby, Albert Hardcastle wakes up to the first day of his retirement. His days of working in a shop are behind him, and he and his wife, Alice, decide to celebrate by taking the luxury cruise of which they always dreamed. Meanwhile, on the Essex coast, Rear Admiral Sir Benbow Harrington, a retired Royal Navy officer, is trying to assemble a fleet of passenger ships. His newest vessel, the Golden Handshake, is ready for its maiden voyage.

Out of the Silence not only offers a rare insight into one man's experience in the throes of a bitter conflict of the past; it also bears witness to the enduring power of forgiveness, truth and reconciliation in the face of adverse forces still at work in the world today.