A BROKEN SHELL OF A MAN
By Elizabeth O'Neill

Synopsis:

The Legg family is dysfunctional at best.  Domestic violence, bullying, drugs, heavy drinking,
cigarettes and junk food are the staples of everyday life and an unholy obsession with eggs adds a
surreal twist to the misery this family experiences daily.  Peggy Legg, the youngest
daughter of the family, with only one leg, is a product of this environment.  So when a respectable
young man called Gregg Eggar proposes marriage, Peggy jumps, or should I say hops at the chance
to leave this all behind.  But it’s not that easy, her demons that are deeply ingrained in her psyche
come along with her into the marriage.  Peggy begins to constantly bully her husband, and Gregg is
too ashamed to get help or talk to anyone about the abuse. Gregg often makes excuses for Peggy
but even these starts to run out after their first son is born and Gregg doesn’t just have himself to
look out for.  

A Broken Shell of a Man is a surreal, deeply disturbed, darkly hilarious and often terrifying novel,
that digs deeply into the heart of a dysfunctional, working class family and finds it to be as healthy as ash from a packet of Benson and Hedges.   Set in a small Scottish town, Elizabeth O’Neill writes in dialect and describes the horror of domestic abuse and its effects from a new and refreshing
perspective.  A deeply disturbing story leavened with some unforgettable, hilarious moments.

About the Author:

Elizabeth O’Neill was born in Penrith (England) to Scottish parents, but soon moved back to Scotland, where she spent all her childhood until she left to go to University. Elizabeth studied sociology at Wolverhampton University (England) and then went on to do a Masters degree in research Methodology at the University of Central England, Birmingham. “Killing John, John, and John” is her first published book. The second novel by Elizabeth O’Neill, “A Broken Shell of a Man”, is, much like in her first novel, about another dysfunctional family. It is expected to be released in Spring by PublishNation.co.uk. Excerpt from the unedited version of the book you can read in our Fiction section.