…from the mind of a fictional
character
by
Beth
by
Beth
(a character from Sarah Marie Graye's
The Second Cup
Beth: Picking up the
pieces
I graduated almost 15 years ago and have worked ever since.
Yet somehow I find myself sleeping on Olivia's sofa and living on £70 a week. The
Local Housing Allowance for Manchester is just £440 – not enough to cover the
rent on my flat, so I handed my notice in. Then I discovered the council
wouldn’t help rehouse me because I’d made myself ‘intentionally’ homeless.
I’m hoping to top up my £70 Employment & Support
Allowance with a Personal Independence Payment. I’ve spent days filling in
forms. I’ve been told it’s difficult to get PIP, but to apply anyway as over
60% of rejected claims are approved at appeal. What a shame they don’t grant
the benefit first time round and spend the money wasted on appeals on mental
health services – to speed up access to services.
When I came out of hospital, I didn’t see anyone for six
weeks. I didn’t know I should go and see my GP – nobody told me. And I’m not
really in the right place mentally to make decisions.
When I saw the psychiatrist she admitted I’d only seen her
so ‘quickly’ because my notes referred to an overdose. Without that magic word,
the wait is four months. I’ve since been discharged by the psychiatrist and
referred back to my GP. I’m now on a waiting list for psychotherapy and
counselling. The wait can be up to two years.
How am I meant to pick up the pieces of my life with so
little support?
How do people without friends like Olivia and Abbie cope?
Introducing...
The Second Cup
Would your life
unravel if someone you knew committed suicide?
Theirs did.
 |
| Buy NOW! |
Faye's heart still
belongs to her first love, Jack. She knows he might have moved on, but when she
decides to track him down, nothing prepares her for the news that he's taken
his own life.
With the fragility of life staring them in the face, Abbie finds
herself questioning her marriage, and Faye her friendship with Ethan. And poor
Olivia is questioning everything - including why Jack's death has hit Beth the
hardest. Is she about to take her own life too?
Sarah Marie Graye was
born in Manchester, United Kingdom, in 1975, to English Catholic parents. One
of five daughters, to the outside world Sarah Marie's childhood followed a
relatively typical Manchester upbringing... until aged 9, when she was
diagnosed with depression.
It's a diagnosis that
has stayed with Sarah Marie over three decades, and something she believes has
coloured every life decision.
Now in her early 40s, and with an MA Creative Writing from London South
Bank University (where she was the vice-chancellor's scholarship holder), Sarah
Marie has published her debut novel - about family, friendships and mental
health.
Giveaway – Win 3 x
Signed copies of The Second Cup by Sarah Marie Graye (Open Internationally)
OR if you don’t like html or are on
WordPress
WWBB hopes you enjoyed the theme 'from the mind of a fictional character'.
If you have an idea/theme that you'd like to write about and promote your book, please get in touch. I'm open to all ideas. - Louise
No comments:
Post a Comment