• Family,  Slider

    Joy

    I’ve put a lot of thought into trying to put my finger on the source of the light that shone from you and I think I’ve figured it out: You knew how to listen to what people were really trying to say. You recognised people for who they were and always treated them with nothing but love, empathy and kindness. You honed those skills as a wife whose husband was a prominent part of the community and could find out on Wednesday she is catering for 40 people on Saturday from the Rotary club and would put on a veritable feast. Ever the hostess, natural and easy, your guests always…

  • Health,  Pain,  Slider

    Chronic Pain & Me

    In December 2017 I was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer for the first time. I didn’t know what “having cancer” would entail and I never expected the level of pain that it would cause me both physically and emotionally. Although I managed to find myself in remission from the cancer itself, it left me with a stark reminder of it: constant pain. We flew through the basic pain killers going from paracetamol to morphine to fentanyl pretty quickly as well as drugs like Gabapentin to try and control the neuropathy that formed in my feet initially due to the chemotherapy. By the time I finished treatment the neuropathy began to spread…

  • Books,  Lifestyle,  Slider

    Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

    Talking to Strangers is the latest book out by Malcolm Gladwell, investigative journalist. This book examines the way we navigate the world in our attempts to make out strangers, who are they, do they pose any threat to me? Etc. It also examines the ways we fail to make sense of them. Gladwell breaks down the tragic story of Ms. Sandra Bland, and why being pulled over for a routine traffic stop, ended in her taking her own life three days later in a jail cell hundreds of miles from home.

  • Books,  Lifestyle,  Slider

    The Lies We Tell by Niki MacKay

    The Lies We Tell is the second Madison Attallee book by Niki MacKay. Niki has rapidly become one of my favourite crime thriller authors across her three novels so far due not only to great stories and some really clever twists but some brilliant pacing and the use of multiple character vantage points to create a world that doesn’t just lay flat on the pages, it springs into life in your head and, lucky for us, we are getting to access for a while.

  • Books,  Lifestyle,  Slider

    I, Witness by Niki MacKay

    I witness is the first book that introduces us to Madison Attalee, former Police detective who lost her job, her marriage and her family to the bottom of a bottle. Having managed to get clean, she has started her own private investigation firm and although she’s been getting some work she suddenly find’s herself in a meeting with a new client from a case she worked with the Police, a murder case. Only the perpetrator Kate Reynold’s sits in front of Madison and says she thinks she’s innocent...

  • Books,  Lifestyle,  Slider

    Found Her by N. J. MacKay

    Hi book worms! This is a full in depth review of Found Her by N. J MacKay spoilers and all, so do be careful reading if you don’t want the spoilers! I found Niki MacKay through a podcast that she is a co-host on with two other authors (Elle Croft and Victoria Selmen) called Crime Girl Gang that I adore. Found her is Niki’s third novel, the first two are based on the same lead character but Found Her takes a break from Madison Attalee to focus on Eve Moriarty.

  • Family,  Mental Health,  Slider

    1,825

    There are 1,825 days in five calendar years. Did you know that? Does that seem like a lot of time to you? Or like less than you had imagined? Have you achieved all you wanted in the last five years? Do you wish you had achieved more, or spent more time doing something that sets your soul alight? Are you happy? In the last 1,825 days I have gone from having one child to two. From being single to married. From healthy to sick. Life changed for us on a sixpence. The day my beautiful sunshine Isla was born, so to came the news that something was there that shouldn’t…

  • Family,  Health,  Pain

    The Bionic Woman!

    God, it has been a shockingly long time since I have done a full blog post, but Tom and I just finished watching Home Before Dark on AppleTV, that features the story of a nine year old journalist and it made me remember why I started writing my blog in the first place so I decided to get back to it! I have plans to begin a YouTube channel where I will make some short educational videos about different gynaecological cancers as well as share my story and maybe some vlog type videos too. But before I update on how we all are, I want to take a moment to…

  • Poetry

    Gear

    Here I am spun out on gearWill tomorrow be less full of fear? Don’t worry it’s all legal,Free too, for those that are frugal. Each prescription goes, if you think I’m a drain,To fight the good fight – the war on pain.Because the nerves won’t listen anymore,They have panic attacks no matter the score. Adhesions don’t know how to healLeaving me unsure how to feelUnable to trust my own two feet on the floorDid you think I was joking when I said it’s a war? Like my body is on a spreeDesperately seeking a space to be freeTrying to find a moment of peace for my mindOverwhelmed by all my…

  • Cancer,  Gynae Cancers,  Health

    Two Years On

    Two years ago today I attended my first colposcopy appointment. I was 29 years old and I had just had my second baby. I was pretty much exuding happiness, tired happiness, but happiness nonetheless. Cancer. It’s a word none of us want to hear, ever. Not for ourselves or for those around us. It’s deceitful, it’s cunning and sly. It hides and it eludes is. It puts those who are diagnosed with it through hell (and that’s putting it mildly). It’s the word I heard by the end of that first appointment. As time goes by I become increasingly aware that I’m able to examine this memory from different angles.…