To re-assert and strengthen the role of women at the heart of hearthside healthcare, Annie and her friends seek to celebrate the stories about health of those that never figure in the spotlight. In this campaign centred on local communities, she is pitted against Health England, a conservative think-tank, that targets her and those close to her with all the savagery of those who are convinced they have every right…… but, as Annie says, “Women with a will can work wonders.”
Local Voices is a sequel to Stories People Tell.
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Seventeen-year-old Annie Wight is convinced that women and girls need to share their stories about health and healthcare with the local community if they are to break free of the isolation that disempowers them and take back control of their health and lives. In her campaign to reinstate women at the heart of hearthside healthcare, Annie finds herself pitted against Health England, a conservative think-tank backed by pharmaceutical giants and private healthcare providers. Pretexting the defence of the National Health Service, they stop at nothing to stamp out Annie’s efforts, targeting not just her but those close to her, dragging their reputations in the gutter and wreaking havoc in friendships and affairs of the heart… but, as Annie says, “Women with a will can work wonders.”
Chapter One - A feral chant greeted Annie as she threaded between the barriers separating the platform from the concourse. Guttural voices growled “Witch!” Or was it “Bitch!” Over and over, till it made no sense...
Chapter Two - Annie closed her eyes and let the warm water wash over her rinsing away the sulphurous smell, and with it the stain of those vile women’s words and the fear and anxiety they provoked...
Chapter Three - The scene in the main room, decorated as it was with Alice’s rich collection of oil paintings, was one of opulence and apparent tranquility. That wasn’t so surprising. Despite Kevin’s grandmother being absent, off on a trip to the States, her calm, deliberate hand was everywhere...
Chapter Two - Annie closed her eyes and let the warm water wash over her rinsing away the sulphurous smell, and with it the stain of those vile women’s words and the fear and anxiety they provoked...
Chapter Three - The scene in the main room, decorated as it was with Alice’s rich collection of oil paintings, was one of opulence and apparent tranquility. That wasn’t so surprising. Despite Kevin’s grandmother being absent, off on a trip to the States, her calm, deliberate hand was everywhere...
Activism and government - Reflections on today's Fridays for Future press conference on the climate crisis and Africa and an extract from Local Voices.
Stories of people who live far from the spotlight - In an article in The Guardian, George Monbiot urges us to pay attention to “(…) the story of people who live far from (…) the spotlight (..)” Untold stories are a central theme of my latest novel, Local Voices.
Shhhhh! Writing. Local voices.Shhhhh! Writing. New book. Follow-up to Stories People Tell. Annie promoting local voices. Seventy-five chapters so far. Eighty thousand words. Coming soon.
Writing a Sequel to Stories People Tell Of course, I couldn’t resist. I began a sequel to Stories People Tell. It starts in Waterloo Station, in the press of commuters under this clock where an unpleasant surprise is awaiting Annie and her girlfriend Kevin.
Stories of people who live far from the spotlight - In an article in The Guardian, George Monbiot urges us to pay attention to “(…) the story of people who live far from (…) the spotlight (..)” Untold stories are a central theme of my latest novel, Local Voices.
Shhhhh! Writing. Local voices.Shhhhh! Writing. New book. Follow-up to Stories People Tell. Annie promoting local voices. Seventy-five chapters so far. Eighty thousand words. Coming soon.
Writing a Sequel to Stories People Tell Of course, I couldn’t resist. I began a sequel to Stories People Tell. It starts in Waterloo Station, in the press of commuters under this clock where an unpleasant surprise is awaiting Annie and her girlfriend Kevin.