My Two Sisters, The Project So Far

Every Sunday I review and complete my diary for the week on what information, research and people’s experiences that we have collected and somehow all play a part in the production of My Two Sisters.

I am now onto my third desk top diary collating all these facts. It is fascinating to see the totally opposite way people want to supply information to my research team. Some are very open about their names, their location etc, while some are very cloak and dagger.

It has become a major skill in finding out what is a suitable tactic to use when we start our initial communication with people. If we get it wrong to start with, the door of opportunity is closed immediately.

We are extremely lucky by having people locally based in specific areas. It has proven to be a winner.

When people want to tell you about their situation or what they know, if you have the local knowledge it goes a long way to giving them comfort and a feeling of friendship.

Research team around the world

When I first started on this project I quickly realised how big this was going to be and how much information would be generated and recorded. I now have a team of six people around the world that all help and contribute to the information database. They are backed up by three people in the office collating all this information.

Social media is obviously a great help and I must thank everyone who has contributed so much to our information database. Things that may be irrelevant to some people, may fit into the larger jigsaw of information and provide the all-important key to the next step forward.

Then you get that email or call out of the blue that opens up a huge new area to look at, and although it may start in the UK, you never know where it is going to end up.

I never thought I would ever have a basic knowledge of Russian, albeit it still entangled with hand movements. The universal language still works. I find the Russian people and their experiences fascinating but that may be explained further as the trilogy of books start to take shape and no doubt a life of their own. Raisa Lebed, pictured above, was someone I’ve met from this country who has had similar experiences to mine.

The first published book will not initially go on sale to the general public – it will be given to my family and close friends who have had to put up with me for the last five years with my inane questions and no doubt illogical thoughts.

I know this sounds crazy…

If I am honest it has been hard to open any conversation without the following words proceeding the question: ‘I know this sounds crazy but could…’.

I then take a further ten minutes explaining my madness and the reasons behind it. It shows that I must now be comfortable with the fact that I am enquiring about my older sister, that I only found out existed when I was 61. My twin sister’s presence still causes me concern when I try to introduce that fact.

When I am comfortable that my family and friends understand my situation and experiences, I will make the decision whether to publish the first book in the trilogy of living life with death.