Creative writing to support the community
Tracey Samuels talks to Linda Boulter , who reflects on her diagnosis and treatment for a rare cancer and how , during the midst of the pandemic , she kept herself occupied and supported isolated local residents by writing a series of engaging short stories .
L inda Boulter qualified in 2008 , graduating as a mature student from the University of Northampton , and for the next decade enjoyed an interesting and varied career , before ‘ slowing down ’ to focus on health and wellbeing and stress management techniques as a self-employed occupational therapist for the next five years ( OTnews , September 2020 , page 51 ),
In early 2020 , Linda experienced some mild symptoms that led to a shock diagnosis of a rare cancer in the pelvis area . After surgery , followed by five weeks of radiotherapy , Linda ’ s career ‘ came to an immediate halt ’.
Now on the road to recovery , Linda spent much of lockdown writing fictitious short stories , many of which are rooted in health and social care , that she was eventually persuaded to collate together in a book , with all proceeds – ‘ and I mean every penny ’ – being donated to the Joseph Cooper Trust to buy wishes for life-limited children .
She says : ‘ Because I was in lockdown , as well as recovering from a cancer operation and treatment , I began to write short stories . I could put myself in a different world and divert my mind away from my own life .
‘ From being what I thought was a healthy 58-year-old one minute , to just