For the Love of Brodie

Brodie has given me nothing but good things and I’m grateful for every one of them. I love a list, so here goes. ..

There was the initial idea and all the fun I had playing with the notion that I could actually write a novel narrated by an inanimate object. This was made all the better because by doing so, I would be able to both explore and explain (albeit in a very allegorical way) what it feels like for me to live with multiple sclerosis.
I had the opportunity to embark on a practice as research doctoral degree. There were other elements to my doctorate, of course, but Brodie was at its heart. And there were so many great things that came along with the doctorate: the opportunity to learn from the brilliant staff and students of the Creative Writing department at Glasgow University; my amazing, generous, supportive supervisors; the fascinating academic research I was able to undertake; all the incredible people I met along the way.
Writing Brodie was a joy. I fought with a lot of words on the way, carving and sculpting, but got so much pleasure from doing so. An added bonus was that when I’m focused on writing, I forget about the nerve pain in my hands (a trick no drug has ever managed to pull off), which meant I had months of pain relief. And as if that’s not enough, I mainly wrote Brodie in the Neenah Public Library (we were living in Wisconsin at the time), which meant I was surrounded by books on a daily basis and who wouldn’t love that!
I had only just graduated with the doctorate (June 2021) when I noticed a lump in my right breast (July 2021) was diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer (August 2021) and started sixteen months of treatment (September 2021), developing sepsis with the first round of chemo. My mind was full of fear and anxiety, with little room for thoughts of Brodie or publication, but there were the odd moments sitting in waiting rooms or hooked up to a drip in the Beatson when I would try to calm myself, breathe deeply and fantasise about Brodie someday being out in the world and me being healthy and well and able to see it. In this way, Brodie helped me to glimpse a future in the darkest of moments.
My final infusion of TDM1 was on the 29th of December 2022. This marked the end of active treatment. As I walked out of the Beatson Cancer Centre that day, bruised from cannulation and with the beginnings of side effects from that last chemo cycle, I had no idea what the New Year would hold. Two important things 2023 did bring were an invaluable six-week Fear of Recurrence course provided by the Beatson Cancer Charity and an encounter with the friend of a friend. Fortunately for me and Brodie, this friend of a friend was Stephen Cameron, founder of Into Creative. After hearing about my strange book that’s narrated by a book, Stephen was so intrigued, he asked for the manuscript and, long story short, decided Brodie would be the next title published by his imprint, Into Books. (I feel hallelujah music should issue forth from the screen at this point, but sadly I have no such technical skill.) And so began Brodie’s journey to publication with all the good things it would bring.
At some point it crossed my mind that if Brodie was ever published I would give the proceeds to Beatson Cancer Charity. When I mentioned this to my publisher, he was very supportive and agreed to set it up so that any money that should come to me, would go to them instead. This is the greatest gift Brodie has given me – the opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude for the kindness and care I received during those sixteen months of cancer treatment.
This connection with the Beatson Cancer Charity (BCC) has flowed through everything that has gone on since Into Books first announced Brodie’s imminent arrival in the epic book trailer created by the creative genius who is Stephen Cameron and it led to interviews and newspaper articles in the run up to Brodie’s launch at Òran Mór on Thursday 7th September 2023. A sold out book launch that doubled as a fundraiser for BCC and was supported by amazing journalists, writers and musicians, to whom I will be forever grateful. It was a night I’ll never forget and thanks to Mhairi, we have a video record (contained in the Brodie publication archive below).
For those who know me well, it will be no surprise that there are eight items in this list. I’ve saved the eighth for all the connections Brodie has gifted me, which feels very appropriate as that is what my novel does – intertwines the lives of six women over thirty years – and thanks to Brodie I am forever connected to the people who have helped me along the way and now to those who have come into my life as a result of this beloved book of mine and who have my deepest gratitude: my Into Creative family; the fabulous folks at BCC; all those who’ve interviewed me or written about Brodie; incredible people like Janice Forsyth who spoke to me on the Afternoon Show on BBC Radio Scotland (the actual, real Janice Forsyth not the Janice who lived in my head and used to help me out with thorny plot points); Daffy who interviewed me on Daffy’s Disc on Go Radio; Zoë Strachan who spoke to me in Caledonia Books on a very wintery Sunday; Alistair Braidwood who interviewed me as part of the brilliant SWH / Into Books collaborative conversations series; Heather Suttie who had me as a guest on her fantastic podcast, the Book Alchemist; and finally, the readers who have taken Brodie to their hearts, sending photos of Brodie from around the world, helping Brodie send me postcards from those adventures and writing lovely reviews that have made me cry.

I also love an archive, so here’s a little one that captures something of Brodie’s publication journey, to date…