 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
way to keep up-to-date with your favourite author! Sign up to a quarterly email with all the latest news and views from Lesley, plus information on her forthcoming books. If you want hear from the number one bestselling author on a regular basis, plus have the chance to win early copies of her books, enter your email address here. |
|
|
|
|
|
I'm sitting here writing this with long awaited spring sunshine blazing through the window. It's actually blowing a gale outside and still very cold, but if I blot that out I can convince myself summer is just around the corner. Easter was a wash out, miserable, cold weather only good for curling up on the sofa with a good book.
I saw a pair of blue tits checking out a nesting box just outside my office window earlier today. I hope they approve the decor and take up residence, it's always a good distraction from writing to watch them coming and going with food for their babies.
I wanted to tell you about the wonderful day we had with the Women of Courage Award back in February. Everything shone that day, the sun, the river Thames that flows past Penguin's offices, but most of all our five finalists.
We had hundreds of nominations for the award, from all over the U.K. So many of them had exceptionally moving stories to tell us, and it was a difficult task just picking a long list of twelve, let alone the final five.
Each of the five finalists we selected were such inspiring women, each one of them worthy of winning the award. They arrived for the awards ceremony with their chosen guests from as far as Northumberland and Cardiff. Up in the beautiful top floor of Penguin Towers over champagne and then a lavish lunch, they met up with last year's winner Nichol Gallagher and everyone else involved with the award.
It was a fantastic, emotional and very happy day which I'm sure we'll all look back on with nostalgia. But what will stay in our hearts and minds forever are the moving stories of those five finalists.
Nathalie Hodgson's 13 year old son Ben tragically died choking on a pen top. Despite her terrible grief, Nathalie set about campaigning for better safety standards in pen tops to save other children. She has also organised many charity events to raise funds for the intensive care unit where Ben was cared for before his death. But what touched me most was that Nathalie is now helping other people's terminally sick children by visiting them and offering palliative care.
When Nadine Walters was only thirteen she had a cancerous tumour in her shin bone. After it was removed she spent two years on crutches. Later she had leukaemia and was given 3 weeks to live. Yet miraculously she went into remission and got married. She was aware that all the chemotherapy she'd had would prevent her from having children. But she did become pregnant, with twins, then only to be told they had Twin to Twin transfusion which was likely to kill them. Nadine bravely agreed to let nature take its course, and happily Noah and Daniel are now two healthy toddlers. Nadine now organises fund raising events for Breast Cancer UK to help others cope with their own battle against cancer.
Karen Baker provides full time support for Nicky her disabled daughter so that she can work. Karen cares for her father who has Alzheimer's disease, and yet somehow finds time to keep her own career tutoring in hairdressing going too. She is learning British Sign language, takes many disabled youngsters under her wing, and visits elderly people who are trapped in their homes. And she does all this while suffering from cancer herself.
When Julianne Durkin O'Brien gave birth to her son Connor she was told he had Spinal Muscular Atrophy and it was doubtful he'd live to see his first birthday. But Julianne took him off to America to see a leading respiratory specialist who could offer ventilating machines which would help Connor. She turned the ground floor of her house into a hospital ward for him, rather than be separated from him. We are talking about 24/7 care here, but Connor is now 4 and a half and thriving thanks to his mother's determination and courage.
I'm quite sure none of you would know who to pick from this five. And even I, who knew more about each of them, had spoken to each of them at length, still found it very, very hard. But we finally decided on Karen Baker. All of us at Penguin Books were charmed by her 'What's so special about me?' stance. She even wanted to give half of her prize money to one of the other finalists she felt deserved it more. We all knew then that we'd made the right decision for she is one wonderful, brave, big hearted lady and it was a privilege to meet her.
It's never too early to think of a woman you know who deserves to be the Lesley Pearse Woman of Courage for 2008. So put on your thinking cap!
After all that excitement it isn't surprising I've been feeling things are a little bit flat. I keep looking at the photographs I took in Alaska and Canada last year when I went off there to research my next book 'Gypsy', and remembering how much fun I had.
I hope some of that fun comes out in the book, along with my trademark of grim struggles and hardships. Of course you'll have to wait until August for it. Meanwhile I'm working on another - think stinking rich people on cruise ships who think they can buy anything!
Can't tell you more right now. I'm still mulling it over.
|
|
|
