The Girl Next Door

About the Book

Miriam had a very difficult childhood. She was the second child of John and Telia out of a family of seven children.

Miriam, the second born was the only one not John’s biological child out of the seven children. Miriam was not fully accepted by her sisters and brothers as a result of this and was always treated as a foreigner in her own parents’ home. This went on during her childhood life up until adulthood life.

Miriam did not know this fact that she was not John’s biological child until she was a teenager. Miriam’s family background was meant to be kept as a family top secret from both John’s and Telia’s family. But this family secret wouldn’t have been broken if it was not for Enie the eldest in the family. Enie had developed hatred for her sister Miriam for reasons we do not know. This hatred is expressed through her courage in spreading the news both in the neighbourhood and at the school where the whole family attended for their secondary education. This was all through the influence from John’s close family who did not like Miriam because she was adopted and accepted by John as his own daughter.

Miriam only knew that she was not John’s biological daughter through a close friend called Tombi. When Miriam heard the news she could not keep it to herself. It was too big an issue to be kept to herself. She immediately confronted her parents who seemed very disappointed with family members who never keep secrets. Both John and Telia knew that it must have been one of the elderly family members who told Enie everything. However, Enie was grounded for being used as a tool by some adults against her sister.

Miriam was conceived out of wedlock during the time when Telia and John went on separation because of John’s short-lived period of infidelity lifestyle. His unfaithful lifestyle did not last long as he contracted a sexually transmitted disease. Out of anger, Telia later left John to be with her parents who were pastors of a church in a small little town situated in the eastern part of the country.

Telia was a very beautiful young lady. It was not long that after she got healed of STD, a single young man called James failed to resist the temptation and the attraction he had for Telia and made her pregnant. However, James and Telia were very committed Christians who were also serving faithfully as Sunday school teachers in the same church were Telia’s parents were pastors. In the end, James was asked to resign as a Sunday school teacher and John strongly requested for Telia to join him back into his life in the city where he worked and lived as an engineer even though his decision was against his parents’ wish. The time Telia went to join John, she was about two months pregnant and she never saw James again.

About the Author

She was born in Zambia in a small town called Chipata. She was the only child to a single mum whom she recognises as a business lady. Praise had a very difficult childhood as she was always in and out of hospital throughout her primary education. She suffered from unknown diseases to medical doctors. And out of desperation led her mother to consult for traditional medical help, even though she did not believe in them. But regretted for the rest of her life as she was not happy with the method of treatment which left her daughter praise with marks on her beautiful face that she could not remove after.

Praise Abraham has always been passionate about writing from a young age. She has a gift of a creative mind that can be traced as far back as secondary school where she first wrote her first poems both in a local language and English on pieces on paper and were always thrown away by her mum who did not understand what the writings meant then.

Praise Abraham has always been passionate about education from a young age too and which she believes this passion was mainly shaped by her zealous, ambitious and very optimistic mum. Praise mum also strongly believed that education was the answer to many things. Her mum believed that if she had gone far in education, she could not have been where she was; doing business that she thought she did it just for money. And she did not want her daughter praise to go throw the same thing and it was her duty to make this happen in her daughter’s life. As a result there were very strict guidelines in the house ‘no missing school unless ill/sick’ and if Praise decided to miss school for no reason that meant no pocket money the following week and special treats could be withdrawn for some time.

She has a diploma in accountancy from a Zambian higher institution of learning. After graduation worked for two years at a company called LEVY MWANAWASA & CO owned by the late president of Zambia Hon. Levy Mwanawasa as an assistant accountant/Office manager. Then in 1999 was offered a scholarship from University College Northampton and graduated with a BA in economics with business and MA international Business analysis in 2002 and 2004 respectively.