Kathleen Curry, who died in 2015 at the age of 91, was a loyal member of her local writers’ group, and a keen amateur scribbler all her life. In 2012, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Dementia and writing grew more difficult. Much of what she wrote was based on memory, which was beginning to prove an unreliable resource. But human beings can be creative to the end of their days—perhaps even beyond. This book bears witness to that fact.
The volume is a kind of autobiography, composed of many short chapters: events, stories, anecdotes, letters and occasional poems. Most of these were written for writers' group meetings, but some were compiled through conversation/dictation in her last few years when her memory was fading. The result is an astonishing range: childhood memories, nursing in the war years, marrying and running a school, then a boarding house, and finally retirement in which the author was as busy as she had ever been.
Kathleen was particularly interested in the idea of coincidence and her writing is full of them. She is funny, characterful, moving and thought provoking.
The book has a foreword and afterword by her daughter Helena Nelson, placing the writing in context of her life and final illness. The book is dedicated to writers' groups everywhere. It is an extraordinary example of how writing, at all stages of life, is an indispensable joy.
This book will make a lovely gift and inspiration for anyone keen on writing.
