One winter, more than thirty years ago, I was on a very exposed hillside on the east coast of Scotland overlooking Cairnryan and ahead of me on the path was a single barren hawthorn tree. It had been battered by the elements and was spindly and misshapen. It looked as though it was a miracle it had survived at all and I was very moved by the tenacity of nature. When I returned in May the same tree was gloriously full of blossom and again I pondered that not only had the tree survived, but it had become just as fruitful as other trees. I was at a crossroads in my life at the time - I had just become engaged to The Wonderful Man and the tree became a symbol of my new start; although my early experiences had shaped me I would be like the tree and survive and blossom.
So, to answer the question, volume one would be called 'A Hawthorn in December', detailing my early life and volume two, 'A Hawthorn in May'. 