BLOG POST: Sue Stern: The Child Who Spoke With Her Eyes

Blog post  

The Child Who Spoke With Her Eyes, Sue Stern 

I'm delighted to be presenting once again at the wonderful Didsbury Arts Festival.

This time I shall talk about The Child Who Spoke With Her Eyes, my recently published 1960s/70s memoir of Vanessa, our beautiful, charismatic daughter. She was profoundly disabled by cerebral palsy but she transformed our lives.

In 2012, I set up my fledgling imprint, Red Bank Books to publish Rafi Brown and the Candy Floss Kid, the story of a dyslexic ten year old boy, who is a brilliant cartoonist, living in Didsbury. Many of you bought this book for your children. Two years later, when Cath Staincliffe, the award-winning Didsbury crime writer invited me to rejoin her novel writers group, I realised I was approaching a big birthday and it was definitely time to write Vanessa's story! During the 18 months it took me to write the first draft of The Child Who Spoke With her Eyes, I received fantastic feedback and suggestions from Cath and the other writers.

So if you're interested in life in black-and-white 1960s and 70s Manchester, love Call the Midwife – or even if you don't, or if you're thinking of writing a memoir and want some tips, come to my reading on Monday 24 June at the beautiful Parsonage. Come with your ideas, your queries; share your experiences of life in the North West. You will receive a great welcome! 

Sue's event will take place at The Parsonage on Mon 24 June at 7pm, £4 - more information here