Tell us about your background and what led you to writing this book.
My father was a wonderful doctor and I always aspired to be like him. Yet when I was nearing the end of my medical studies, I began to discover that my true fulfilment lay in aged care. While my fellow med students were fascinated by cadaver dissection and pharmacology, I was struck by the number of older patients who were socially isolated and the tangible effect this had on both their mental and physical health. In Medicine, we learned how to keep people alive, yet I saw so many who had a pulse but were not really living. A defibrillator could keep a heart beating yet could never give it someone or something to beat for. I knew I wanted to be part of prevention, not treatment.
Having enjoyed a close relationship with all of my grandparents and even my great-grandfather, I was drawn to work with older people (not just because we shared the same taste in music and a strong preference for eating dinner at 5 pm). I transferred to a Health Promotion degree and developed a local government program teaching older widowed men how to cook. Participants not only learnt new skills but, even more importantly, formed new friendships and found fulfilment in being able to host their families for the Sunday roast.
When my grandfather and best friend Fred was diagnosed with dementia, I followed my heart into his nursing home and became the social support coordinator so we could spend more time together. I took great delight in challenging assumptions of what older people enjoy and are capable of, of the mind that just because life ends in a nursing home, living doesn’t have to.
Shortly after my grandfather died, I had two beautiful kids and was a stay-at-home mum for many years. Injury and multiple surgeries had left me unable to return to aged care, so I eventually began to write about it, channelling my experience and passion onto the page.
What inspired the idea behind this book?
The idea for the novel began with the creation of my protagonist Fred, who not only shares my late grandfather’s name but also his delightful, selfless, and endearing nature. Pa was my best friend, whose gratitude, humour, and kindness lit up any room he was in. People over eighty are often under or misrepresented in the arts, so I wanted to create not just an elderly character but an elderly hero who inspires hope and shows that worth, unlike eyesight, does not diminish with age. Pa provided the perfect inspiration. He had countless strengths, but his poker face wasn’t one of them! He was so honest that he found it terribly difficult to even play a card game that required bluffing. Plot stems from conflict, so I contemplated what would happen if you placed such a man in a situation where he was desperate enough to deceive (if he believed he wasn’t hurting anyone). Doppelgängers and cases of mistaken identity have always fascinated me, and I began developing the idea of one man being able to redeem another man’s life, even after death. The story grew quickly from there.
What is something that has influenced you as a writer?
Whilst most kids were playing Lego or Barbies, my best friend and I spent our childhood writing plays and short films that we’d act out or record for our very patient parents! These formative years helped shape me as a storyteller and my lifelong adoration of theatre and screenplay inspires my writing. As I type each scene, I see it play out like a movie in my head, complete with a cinematic soundtrack!
Emotional connection is also something that continues to have a significant influence on me as a writer. As my friends and family will attest, I’m a major empath, but this empathy doesn’t just stop at real humans! I feel deeply for my characters and can often be found weeping at my computer or in fits of giggles over something that happens to them. I’m not sure if this makes for good writing or if I should seek professional help! Nonetheless, I don’t feel I could write without this emotional attachment and it’s the best gauge I have of whether something is working.
What are you hoping the reader will take away from reading your book?
Aching sides, wet cheeks, and lots of used tissues! I hope readers will come away feeling uplifted and inspired by the knowledge that connection, kindness, and love can transform lives and mend hearts. I also aspire to offer gentle insight into ageing and related matters like loss and dementia and hope to reach people touched by these issues.
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?
The first draft is just telling the story to yourself. Run to the finish line without looking back! Stopping to polish prose and grammar in your first draft is like icing your cake batter. Part of this is resisting the urge to compare your writing to published books – the published ones have been through the editorial carwash many, many times to get that sparkly!
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