I am currently writing my thirty-sixth book, so I suppose it is inevitable that after that many stories I have mined both my own life experiences, and those of the people around me, as inspiration for my novels. To date, my most personal story was probably A Mother’s Last Wish, which was inspired both by my own diagnosis with cancer, when my children were five and nine, and the experiences of my lovely friend Danni, who died in 2021, leaving behind her wife Rosie, and her beautiful boys, Oscar and Charlie. I thought I would never top how personal that novel felt, but this year I wrote a story that felt equally as close to home, perhaps even more so, because its inspiration is something my family are living through right now, rather than something we went through in the past.
Mending Hearts at the Cornish Country Hospital tells the story of A&E nurse, Eden, who is raising her son, Teddie, alone. Teddie is almost four, non-verbal, and has been diagnosed with autism. Eden has heard every myth, mis-guided theory and downright hurtful thing that can be said about her son’s diagnosis, and she has zero tolerance for anyone who cannot see Teddie for the wonderful child he is. When Drew, a kind and highly intelligent pathologist, enters her life, the last thing she expects is to find the one person who understands Teddie even better than she does.
I drew on the inspiration for this story after my grandson, Arthur, was diagnosed with autism at just two years old. My daughter had split up with his father before his first birthday, but with a plot line which could have been taken straight from one of my novels, she had reunited with her first ever boyfriend, Andrew, who she originally dated when they were at school together. Not only was I thrilled that Anna had found someone who adored her, but it was clear from day one that he also loved Arthur and understood him in a way that gave them a unique bond, perhaps because Andrew, like Drew (see what I did there!) has high functioning autism too.
Raising a child with severe autism is a constant challenge, which requires endless patience, not least in having to advocate for the child and fight battles over and over again to get the services they need. Added to that, parents have to face the absolute rubbish that is spouted about so called ‘cures’ for something that isn’t an illness and therefore cannot be ‘cured’, but a difference in the physical make up of the brain and the way in which it processes information. Watching Anna and Andrew tackle that with such determination and devotion to Arthur couldn’t fail to have inspired me, especially when you weave their own love story into the mix. So how could I do anything other than use that inspiration for a novel that is my own personal love letter to all three of them.
I am thrilled that they are getting married next year and taking the next steps in their adventure as a family of three. Their fight to give Arthur the best possible life goes on and if you’d like to hear more about those experiences, subscribers to my newsletter can access an exclusive interview with Anna. I hope readers will enjoy Eden and Drew’s story, but more than that I hope it will help dispel some of the misinformation that can make life even more challenging for the parents of amazing children like Arthur, our beautiful boy, who we wouldn’t change for the world.