Organize Your Books
Organizing physical books can be a delightful yet challenging task for any book lover. Whether you have a small collection or a personal library, a well-organized book space not only enhances the aesthetics of your home but also makes it easier to find and choose what to read next. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how […]
Before I Die by Jenny Downham
Plot and Synopsis Tessa is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Despite four years of chemotherapy, she has discovered that her cancer is terminal and her doctors give her a short time to live. Tessa, with the help of her best friend Zoey, comes up with a list of things she wants to do before she […]
Jenny Downham: ‘I hope readers will be less afraid of dementia after reading Unbecoming’
The latest book from the bestselling author of Before I Die is a dense web of ‘unbecomings’, a story exploring the societal, familial and self-imposed limits placed on girls and young women, and the experience of living with dementia. Here she explains why she chose the title – what it means to lose yourself, and find yourself
How Mum’s dementia changed our relationship
My mother opened her front door a crack and peered at me suspiciously. “What?” she asked. “Entertainment’s arrived,” I said, smiling. Her mistrust turned to delight. “A sing-song?” She chivvied me in. “No one told me you were coming.” She had been told. Many times. But vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease had recently robbed her of the ability to retain […]
Jenny Downham: ‘my own mother had Alzheimer’s and died while I was writing Unbecoming’
As a child what were your favourite books and which authors inspired you? What about now? As a young reader I devoured poetry, folk and fairy tales (Grimm, Andersen), and stories from the Arabian Nights and Ancient Greece. I loved Ann Holm (I Am David) and Robert C O’Brien (Z for Zachariah) – my first […]