Poppy Peacock from Poppy Peacock Pens
The first of my milestone reads – like many others I suspect - was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee which I studied at O'level; it didn't just widen my cultural horizons, it was my literary awakening to appreciate the power of literature and delights of rounded characters and a compelling story. But that awakening was short lived. While I still marvelled at the occasional gem, over the next twenty years a busy life often led to lighter reads – still very entertaining and offering great escapism – but with far less literary impact; merely providing a balance to the heavier documentation my career demanded.
In 2007 - after 3 years of severe illness which led to a much impaired cognitive ability - I joined a new book group in the hope participation would help my rehabilitation: The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox was our second choice. Although O'Farrell's fourth novel, it was the first of hers I’d read and I was completely blown away - just like with To Kill a Mockingbird - both culturally and literarily.
Esme's tragic story resonated from my nursing days when the so called Care in the Community campaign rolled out and people who had spent a lifetime in Institutions were being discharged; the general aim – certainly not care driven – a more cost-effective way of helping people with mental health problems and physical disabilities. Sadly - slight understatement but I'm trying not to lapse into the incandescent rant tales like that of Esme spur on - the harsh reality was often far from ideal.
