Another look at Jamaican history; Lynda Edwards’ “Friendship Estate” is here

BY MICHAEL THOMAS

Lynda Edwards is one of a few storytellers that actually makes an individual believe that he or she is living the story that she is telling, and these days that is very rare.

In her second book titled “Friendship Estate” Edwards takes her readers on a back in time ride through Jamaica in the 1700s-1800s from the ugly and rootless plantation era to good old Georgian England in its entire splendour.

This was an era when Jamaica had to tolerate England’s good, bad and ugly in more ways than one. After listening to this author narrate this story one gets the feeling that Edwards was there and saw it all.

The attention to detail with which Edwards writes is exceptional. In the book “Friendship Estate” she carefully takes the readers through the mind-set of one of the British men of that era who traded his family in exchange for a new Haitian wife, then on his deathbed willed her to his best friend.

Edwards said that the motivation for this book came from watching Patrick Chung, a Jamaican who plays for New England Patriots. Chung decided to sit out the 2020 season so as not to infect his family with the virus, because his family was worth more to him than money.

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper spoke with the author Mrs. Lynda Edwards about “Friendship Estate” and what is in the future for her readers.

“Friendship Estate is my Covid baby,” Edwards told Toronto Caribbean Newspaper, “I started in May and finished it in October. It is one of those books that invaded my imagination. I was writing at all hours of the day and night as it came to me.”

“I tried very hard to make Jamaica a character in the book,” she said, “it is essential to both stories and there is so much that is going for Jamaica, but we don’t allow it to be the source of pride as it should be.”

Edwards was asked how is it she narrates a story so well? The Jamaican author answered, “We are an oral narration society, we do so much better speaking than we do writing.”

Edwards who was born in Mandeville Jamaica in the 60s said that family surrounded her. She told Toronto Caribbean Newspaper. “Family was very central in my life growing up.”

“This book,” Edward continues, “comes from my imagination, my family history in Jamaica and the book that Bernard Senior wrote, which really showed that if people had just put a little forethought into the end of slavery, things would have been so different.”

This author told Toronto Caribbean Newspaper she found her writing voice late in life, finishing her first book “Redemption Songs” at age 52 and that took her a year and a half to complete.

She also had advice for young up and coming writers; “Get a notebook and write down all your thoughts that come to you. I found that very helpful with both my books and I have a notebook for each of my books.

That’s where I would put my thoughts that come to me at 3:00 am in the morning, when I am washing the dishes or doing the laundry.”

Edwards disclosed that she writes while listening to music, and she also has a different music playlist for each of her books.

She also would like her fans to know that a third book is in the works called “I Am Cuba” and her goal for this year is to get it published.

Edwards told Toronto Caribbean Newspaper that when she was looking for publishers for both books, she could not find anyone that were willing to publish her and other Caribbean fiction writers, “And that,” she said, “is very sad.”

It is safe to say that if readers are looking for a book that makes them feel a part of the story, then “Friendship Estate” is the book.

Lynda Edwards “Friendship Estate” is a must read, self-published book and is available on all social platforms. https://www.lyndaredwards.com/