Category Archives: Multiple Sclerosis

Illness: A Narrative in Four Parts, Parts Three and Four

Posted on May 9, 2020 by

I’m very grateful to The Polyphony for serialising my essay on being diagnosed and living with multiple sclerosis. I much prefer writing fiction, but over the last three years I’ve had to push the boundaries of my comfort zone and … Continue reading →

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Illness: A Narrative in Four Parts, Part Two

Posted on May 5, 2020 by

My four-part hybrid essay is a piece of memoir that explores my experience of being diagnosed with, and living with, multiple sclerosis. In part two: I’m moved from the emergency receiving unit to the skin ward (because there’s a bed … Continue reading →

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Illness: A Narrative in Four Parts

Posted on May 4, 2020 by

I’m a fiction writer. It’s what makes me happy. But sometimes I write fact. A case in point is an essay I’ve written for my doctoral project entitled Illness: A Narrative in Four Parts. My essay is being serialised this … Continue reading →

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Filling the Days

Posted on March 25, 2020 by

A friend sent me a message yesterday to ask if I could offer any tips on “the craft of keeping to a routine and filling your days whilst maintaining good well-being in all its forms” during this difficult time. I … Continue reading →

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National Poetry Day

Posted on October 2, 2014 by

When I was first diagnosed, I found that writing poetry (in the loosest sense of the word) was a useful way to process some of the strange stuff that happens when you have a disease munching on your brain and spine. … Continue reading →

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A Letter A Day… Y

Posted on October 2, 2014 by

This is day 32 of ‘A Letter A Day’. The last day. It therefore seems fitting that I end on the first letter I received (although, when I chose to post the letters alphabetically I hadn’t joined those dots, so it’s merely … Continue reading →

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A Letter A Day… Travis

Posted on October 1, 2014 by

Today’s letter is from Travis who was diagnosed with MS at the age of 33. Please read his powerful diagnosis story by clicking on the link below. Travis’s letter

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A Letter A Day… Sue

Posted on September 30, 2014 by

Since her diagnosis with MS sixteen years ago, Sue has become actively involved with the MS Society’s Research Network, working with the media and representing patients’ views on progress in MS research. Please click on the link below to read her powerful diagnosis story. Sue’s … Continue reading →

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A Letter A Day… Steve

Posted on September 29, 2014 by

With only three days left of ‘A Letter A Day’, it’s my privilege to post Steve’s letter. He was diagnosed with MS nine years after his wife, Caroline, had received the same diagnosis. Please click on the link below to read his diagnosis … Continue reading →

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A Letter A Day… Sandy

Posted on September 28, 2014 by

It’s the end of week four and today I’m posting a letter from Sandy. In it, he writes, ‘I was 32 and thought my world was over. It wasn’t; it was simply a new beginning.’ Please click on the link … Continue reading →

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