THE warts-and-all story of the life, loves and losses of a debut author is set to hit the shelves.

Susan Ashley tells all about her childhood growing up in Barrow in her first book entitled All My Tomorrows , due to go on sale on Friday. The 57-year-old, who was born in Thwaite Street, wrote her story after coming across her old diaries.

The autobiographical-style publication includes all of the tales from Mrs Ashley’s former life in Barrow. The mum-of-one gave birth to her daughter in the town, having formerly gone to school on Walney while growing up in Ocean Road.

Having moved to Dorset 27 years ago, writing the book gave Mrs Ashley the chance to take a long-overdue trip down memory lane.

She said: “I’ve put a lot of heart and soul into it, really. I’ve shared everything - all the most intimate details are in it; everything is from the heart.

“It covers everything from my birth to getting married. I’ve since divorced and all personal things have gone in to it, including having my daughter through to being with my present husband now. It’s left no stone unturned.”

After spending almost three years writing her book, Mrs Ashley was over the moon when it was picked up by Austin Macauley Publishers and she was given the date for its release. She hopes her old friends in Barrow, who will remember her as Susan Caldwell, will enjoy the parts dedicated to her life in south Cumbria.

She said: “It’s all there about living on Walney. When I was younger, my father and my brothers worked in Vickers and I didn’t appreciate what the town did back then. It’s not until I’ve got older that I’ve understood so much of what Barrow has to be proud of, what it’s done in the past and what it continues to do. Now it’s all there.

“I’m excited. I think I’d be a bit naive to say I’m not a little bit nervous, but I’ve got nothing to hide. It’s all in the book and it’s as true as I can possibly remember it all to have happened. It’s taught me so much about myself that I hadn’t appreciated or realised, and a lot about life as well.”