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Leigh K Cunningham is a lawyer with a career as a senior executive for a number of public companies in her home country of Australia. She has master’s degrees in law and commerce as well as an MBA (International Management).
RAIN, Leigh's first title for the adult fiction market, was released April 2011 and subsequently named the winner in the Literary Fiction category at the 2011 Indie Excellence Awards. RAIN was also awarded a silver medal at the 2011 Independent Publisher Awards (IPPY) in the Regional Fiction: Australia/New Zealand category.
Leigh's first two children's books, THE GLASS TABLE and the sequel, SHARDS are recipients of silver medals from the Mom's Choice Awards. SHARDS was also a finalist at the 2011 Indie Excellence Awards in the Juvenile Fiction category.
BEING ANTI-SOCIAL is Leigh’s next title due for release in 2012. The third book in THE GLASS TABLE series is also in progress.
Leigh now lives in Singapore with her husband of 28 years, Steve.
Reviewed by Janet Jensen for Readers' Favorite
Rain is a three-generation family saga that begins with the Australian Wallin family and their daughters Grace and Helena. Though they were raised in comfort and love made possible by their father’s sawmill dynasty, loss and misfortune soon change the future for the sisters. Grace moves away to pursue her goals while Helena makes an unfortunate choice in marriage, raising four children who don’t recognize her sacrifices until they are older. Two of her sons, William and Brian, become lost in the dark, hazy world of substance abuse and never realize their potential nor their own worth.
The story then moves to Helena’s daughter Carla, who is a survivor. With her university education largely supported by Helena, she becomes a lawyer, embittered by life and unwilling to trust. When it seems that she is destined to be alone, a surprising encounter leads her to love and tenderness in Ethan. Tragedy follows her, however, and she flees to a monastery for self-reflection and then to volunteer work in a third world country, where she begins to find herself again.
Meanwhile Matthew, a gifted writer and journalist, fights his own demons and survives harsh imprisonment in order to report the truth.
As adults, Carla and Matthew unite in their concern for Helena’s well-being, and the love and tenderness they show her is touching. I found it moving to read how grown siblings, never close as children, who have lived half a world apart, still find each other in times of need. In the end, and always, it’s about family, and being open to those who love you.
Leigh Cunningham has crafted an engrossing, well-written and compelling book. Although it is hard to “encapsulate” because there are many themes and story lines, it is a wonderful book that I highly recommend.
