Rocky Road: The incredible true story of the fractured family behind the Darrell Lea chocolate empire

Well there we are warts and all, from a Lovely Jewish Family to a raving lunatic MOTHER Valerie. NOT happy with 4 natural BIRTH children the Lady adopts three others then DUMPS them all knee deep in dark chocolate and what a COW.I have never ever read such a BOOK, praise the LORDS that there are strict LAWS now in place to deal with "MOTHERS" Like Ms Valerie Lea.What a terrible terrible childhood Shelton, Bretton, and "Honey" lead, all the way from Kings X in Sydney to the old Gazebo at the Kings X, to St. Kilda and every single Jail in Australia, from every age those poor children. Thank G-D I dont eat chocolate.What a fair dinkum dictator Wife, Mother, Sister, Aunty, was VALERIE.Even today I find the book compelling the Author is stronger then 100% pure chocolate and all the books written, this one stands alone, as a manifesto of what NOT to do as a Mother. Perish the thoughts!!!. Perish the Mother, long gone but NEVER forgotten, better to pass over in style then to be and subject children to her ways of thinking. Seven children in seven different schools, what a tyrant of a person, she was NOT alone.

I worked as a Darrell Lea lady for some time, creating the amazing windows that advertised the world of Darrell Lea, so I was very interested in reading this biography. Instead I finished it feeling sad and disillusioned that something so amazing as their chocolates & sweets were the product of such a disfunctional family history. Although the story was primarily based around one part of the Lea family, the end feeling coloured the whole.Monty Lea and his wife Valerie appeared to be able to offer both their 4 natural children and their 3 adopted children a Willie Wonka world. Instead Shelton, Bretton and Gail (called Honey), were never 'real Lea's' but adopted play-mates for the natural children - and never allowed to forget that.All 3 left home at around 15. Shelton fought drugs and multiple gaol terms to become one of Australia's most respected poets. Bretton and his brother were close and shared an involvement in petty crime, Bretton was never able to form solid relationships. Honey became a child of the 60's with a fascinating career in the avant-garde world of that time. All 3 were people of value who never felt valued by the only parents they knew - Valerie & Monty Lea.In some ways I wish I had never read this book.

A story that focuses on the children and has a repetitive theme about the differing treatmentMore like a diary than a story