The Lessons – A True Story About a Parasitic Novel and Its Hidden Meaning

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This article is about my novel called The Lessons. Strictly speaking, it is not a novel at all, but something far more sinister. The dictionary lacks a word for what The Lessons actually is, but has provided a two-way mirror that hides a life behind my own reflection.
 

How The Lessons Began in My Teenage Years

At the age of 19, I made the momentous decision to being this novel – on April 23 1985, to be precise. I know this because I kept a diary between 1977 and 1988. As soon as I began, an illness cut me down for a week. I thought nothing of it, determined I was going to begin this novel as soon as I felt better. Little did I realise how this novel would affect my life.

Symbolic drawing of multi-headed writer
Me during one of my writing episodes. A fantasy world burned me up inside.

The Hidden Story Beneath The Lessons

I kept my novel secret from family and friends. I feverishly read books on how-to write novels, sitting in my flat for hours on end, eking out a few sentences. During episodes, I would lose weight and become ill.

My novel appeared to have no bearing upon my life at all. A psychopath operates in a creepy old house called the Hollows and heads a criminal ring. I was living in a sleepy village with my parents and siblings. I partook in kiddie stuff like babysitting, toy-making, Sunday school teaching and art.
 

A Novel That Felt Parasitic and Alive

During my writing, I connected with this ‘strand’. This strand grew addictive. It ran deep, powerful, compulsive, shameful, deathly, depressing, creepy and devastating.
Little did I realize the source of this strand.

This fascinating journey into the secret message beneath The Lessons actually is available in Kindle and paperback.

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Intro

Welcome — I’m Madeleine Watson, a memoirist, artist and diarist. For more than forty years I’ve lived a lie. I have documented my journey to the dark truth about my toddlerhood through writing, artwork and research. This blog brings together everything I've discovered at the age of 51 — a discovery that reshaped everything I believed about myself.

My work spans childhood trauma, identity, memory, twinhood and the ways early experiences echo through adult life. Here you’ll find memoirs, diary excerpts, artwork, family‑history, research and reflections drawn from decades of personal documentation.

If you’re new, the best place to begin is the Start Here page, which introduces the prologue and the 10‑part series that leads to the moment I learned the truth about my past. You can also visit About Me to learn more about my background and the purpose behind this project.

Thank you for reading.

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