alt="Caren and Dieter on the sofa"

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In: Author: Caren Launus-Gamble, Family, Grief, Palliative Care, Real-life stories
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I kissed him gently on the forehead, looked into his vacant blue eyes and said “Goodbye, Papa. I love you.” I’ve no idea whether he heard me or not. That was the last time I saw my father alive. He was pumped full of morphine to ease his passing. Rewind 5 days: It’s the end of May 2017, and I have just flown in from Manchester, UK to be with my father at the Helios Klinikum in Schleswig, Germany. The doctor I had spoken to the day before had urged me to be at my father’s bedside. “It’s not looking good. The second round ofRead More →

alt="Jane McDermott, female author of Hopes, Dreams & Houses"

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In: Author: Caren Launus-Gamble, Grief, Inspiration, Interviews, Real-life stories, Self-improvement, Talent, Writing, Yorkshire
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“I’m the kind of person that would start something and never finish it, “ Jane smiles. “So, when I said to my family one night that I was going to write a book, they all went at first ‘oh, yeah, lovely, right’, and it was forgotten. Because I don’t do things like that.” Jane waves her hand dismissively. Jane McDermott has invited me for a coffee and a chat at her home in Pudsey, Leeds today, to talk about the motivation behind writing and self-publishing her debut novel ‘Hopes, Dreams & Houses’. “This story has been in my head for a long time, from whenRead More →