Authors Electric

Last week I spent a few days looking after someone who is terminally ill so her partner could have a break.  It was a quiet, reflective few days - for both of us. She spent a lot of time talking about her working life, the friends she has made and the legacy she leaves behind in her field. (I'll not tell you more than that as it would make her identifiable and I don't have her permission). She is - rightly - hugely proud of everything she has achieved and has been able to live long enough to see that systems are in place for her to be remembered, and celebrated, for all she has done. She has no children. I have no idea if there were decisions behind that or if it is happenstance - though it did make me wonder if her need to talk about her working life would have been as urgent if she had children and maybe grandchildren to pass her baton to. Which set me wondering. As writers, we will - inevitably in this digital age - leave our words behind. But, when stripped aw...

It's August. The schools are out. Children and young people mill about our streets eating ice creams. Families, if they can afford it, are heading off on holiday. And those of us in teaching or factories or offices or libraries - anywhere with a boss and a contract - have the statutory right to take leave. Employment law enshrines a belief that we are entitled to time away from work to recharge our batteries. I am aware that the situation is different in America, where most employees have very little paid leave - but here, in Europe, we see time away from work as reparative and not evidence of slacking. And families need time together, just to have fun, to remind themselves how much they love each other when they don't bicker every morning just getting out of the house. And writers? Do we need restorative time? Days, weeks, away from the blank page and from social media, just to reconnect with who we are and what we really want from life? To breathe fresh air and re...