Love Changed Everything
The Power of Love
by Wallace E. Briggs
A colliery family scraping by, a young man training for the chapel ministry, and a Roman Catholic girl he was warned never to marry.
★★★★★4.75 average on Goodreads
of love
The story
The Bridges family struggled to escape poverty because of Albert’s ill health. The children were happy until they realised they were deprived of the pleasures that their friends enjoyed. But love surrounded and encouraged them every day of their childhood days. Their lives were filled with good times and adventures.
Eddie, the eldest child of four, suffered at the hands of the bullies. But his father showed him how to stand up for himself. Albert taught his children that success could come even after multiple failures if they kept trying. But when he had a lung removed, he lost his job and their home. The family moved in with Grandma in her terraced house in the Colliery village of Browney. Gran was already caring for her divorced daughter’s family of three young men. Somehow they managed to coexist for over a year.
A few months later, the family was rehoused into a new housing development and their first home with hot water and an indoor loo; what luxury. Eddie was training to become an unpaid Minister in the Independent Methodist Movement. His girlfriend, Doreen, for eighteen months, was the daughter of one of the Senior Ministers in the circuit of six chapels.
“Cupid’s arrow flew and lodged so deep that the warnings of his friends in the Chapel never got past his ears.”From the book
When Eddie met Pam, he was employed as a University Junior Technician, and his life was turned upside down. Cupid’s arrow flew and lodged so deep that the warnings of his friends in the Chapel never got past his ears. The pair were immediately smitten; nothing could part the young lovers. It was hard to break off with Doreen and even more difficult to heed the warnings of his associates in the chapel community. Pam was a Roman Catholic, and he was warned that their faiths were incompatible.
After purposely underperforming at school GCE ‘O’ level, Eddie studied part-time at night school, and with the benefit of day release from his employment as a University Chemistry Technician, he gained HNC level Chemistry certification. Then he was invited to take up a career in Technical Sales by a local supplier of scientific products and instrumentation. Within a year, he and Pam had secured a mortgage on their first home and never looked back. There were ups and downs, but love always got them through the sticky patches. Eddie and Pam are approaching their diamond wedding anniversary.
The people in Eddie’s story
A few of the faces you’ll meet between the pages.
- E
Eddie
The eldest of fourBullied at school, training as an unpaid Minister in the Independent Methodist Movement.
- A
Albert
His fatherTaught his children that success could come even after multiple failures.
- G
Gran
BrowneyTook the family into her terraced house while already caring for three young men.
- D
Doreen
His girlfriendEighteen months together. A Senior Minister’s daughter.
- P
Pam
The oneA Roman Catholic. Everyone warned their faiths were incompatible.
What readers wrote
Average on Goodreads
Wholly encompassing, deep, and thought provoking
“Love Changed Everything: The Power of Love” is a memoir of Eddie’s life. Eddie’s family lives in poverty as his father, Albert, struggles to remain healthy with his single remaining lung. In a coal town, with generations of coal miners, Albert is determined to keep himself and his family from the mines.
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With three kids, his parents struggle to make ends meet and money becomes an oft discussed topic within. Anyone that’s ever lived penny to penny knows how all consuming the thoughts of the next paycheck or bill can become.
Beginning with Eddie’s earliest memory, at the age of four, and carrying readers well into adulthood, “Love Changed Everything” is an enchanting read. Predominately centered around the year 1960, when Eddie is a mere 17 years old, readers are further introduced to Eddie through his journal entries. This pivotal year housed much heartbreak, struggles, and love as it sets the tone for this book and Eddie’s trajectory. Through these journal entries readers are shown the innermost thoughts and depths of his brain as we understand his life, the proceeding years and the years yet to come.
Author Wallace Briggs highlights the diversity of his talents, off the heels of his Jimmy Crikey series, firmly rooted in the children’s fantasy genre, he delivers this wholly encompassing, deep, and thought-provoking memoir. With sweeping interfaith relationship concerns, to poverty, ambition, and loss, “Love Changed Everything” shows Brigg’s wide breadth of talents.
Jill Rey · Aug 11, 2023 · Verified Purchase
“A heartfelt memoir”
Love Changed Everything: The Power of Love by Wallace E. Briggs is a heartfelt memoir journeying through a life filled with challenges, opportunities, and transformative love. … Throughout his life, the underpinning theme remains his unwavering love for his wife, Pam, and their resilience in the face of life’s tribulations.
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The narrative spans from the author’s foray into the world of operatic music to unexpected roles in junior operatic productions to nerve-wracking business travels across tumultuous geopolitical landscapes.
The book’s strength lies in its honest portrayal of real-life experiences, both good and bad. Briggs seamlessly intertwines personal anecdotes, like the intense pressure of unexpectedly playing piano for a live audience, with the grander historical context, such as the tensions in Berlin before the fall of the Wall. However, at times, the narrative can seem overwhelming with the multitude of experiences, making it occasionally hard to follow. The theme of dreaming, inspired by the classic song from Pinocchio, stands out as a binding thread. It showcases the raw reality that, while wishing upon a star might be the start, determination, effort, and the power of love genuinely drive dreams to fruition.
One of the standout aspects is the memoir’s focus on embracing unexpected opportunities, which leads to personal growth and cherished memories. The vivid characters connect readers to their experiences and emotions, particularly in the face of adversities like job loss and the profound grief of losing a child. Briggs’ writing style is evocative, melding detailed descriptions of settings with his journey’s internal struggles and joys without giving away any spoilers.
Love Changed Everything: The Power of Love is an evocative memoir filled with lessons on resilience, determination, and the unparalleled power of love. For those who seek an inspiring read with an authentic human touch, this book offers an enriching journey.
Book Reviewer · Sep 6, 2023
“Swept away by the love story”
Wallace E. Briggs shares his experiences growing up in England and the obstacles he faced in love in his book, Love Changed Everything. Briggs wasn’t born into material wealth, and his father was sick during the author’s life.
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Briggs imparts the difficulties his family faced as they struggled financially and worried about the family’s patriarch, even though Briggs was up to the usual hijinks of younger boys. As the author advanced into his middle to later teen years, he revealed entries in his journal about his preparation for ministry as an Independent Methodist and the two women in his life. One young lady has a stronger hold on him than the other, but their differences in religion were a significant stress on their relationship.
Wallace E. Briggs has had a very eventful life! The challenges he faced helped mold his choices and character, creating a highly motivated individual. I could relate with the author as he watched a beloved parent suffer, and I wished modern medical advancements would have been available during Brigg’s youth. Through his disappointments, Briggs clung firmly to God and his religion and mentioned the role of spiritual leaders and friends throughout his work. In many ways, the book was a coming-of-age story, detailing camping expeditions with friends and discoveries of young love. Readers who enjoy romance will be swept away by the love story, reading each journal entry in hopes that the relationship will result in marriage. Love Changed Everything is a great selection for experienced readers who like memoirs with romance and heavy notes of nostalgia.
Courtnee Turner · Sep 23, 2023
Wallace E. Briggs
Wallace Briggs (1943 – present). My formative years were experienced in and around Durham City. Married in 1964, to my childhood sweetheart, Pat and I spent 40 happy years in the North East before employment almost took us off to emigrate to South Africa. But plans were changed in the final weeks, and instead the company moved us to East Sussex. After over twenty years in Sussex, then Hampshire, employment was again responsible for the move to a beautiful rural Lancashire.
Jimmy Crikey was born one rainy day, many years ago, during a family holiday in Great Yarmouth, to entertain my son and his newfound friends for about an hour. The story expanded over the following rainy afternoons in the cramped confines of a beach tent.
Find Wallace: wallaceebriggs.com Facebook X Instagram
Read Eddie and Pam’s story
In paperback and on Kindle.