by Christine Williams
Jenny's Book I Will was published by Sydney School of Arts & Humanities. The following is a speech delivered by head of publishing house, Christine Williams, on the book's launch event.
We are all here tonight to celebrate Jenny’s book publication triumph – an ebook, a print book, and most recently an audiobook – serialised for podcast.
And what a triumph the process of writing and publishing the book has been … all born out of Jenny’s great wish to share what she can of her experience of a stroke with others – both those who’ve suffered a similar fate, and the families and friends of stroke victims, so that they can come to a greater understanding of the potential still there – the experience and knowledge still there – for those struck down – yes, maybe ‘struck down but not out’. Jenny’s dogged determination and generous spirit is why she’s here tonight, able to celebrate with you all.
Jenny and I met about four years ago when she first attended one of Sydney School of Arts& Humanities’ weekly writing group meet ups. They’re informal gatherings of people who are serious about their writing. We like each other but there’s not much social chitchat. We’re all intent on not only our own writing, but the stories by others in the group, and our common aim is to give as much gentle and positive feedback as possible – so that we all grow from our mutual admiration as well as critiquing.
Jenny was a natural in this setting. Tentative at first, she welcomed suggestions and bathed in the light of others’ appreciation of her accounts of getting back to a new normal. First of all straight after the stroke (before we met) to be able to speak again, then hold complex conversations, then walk, then drive! As well as study, take courses at TAFE that would push her forward, keep up friendships, and most importantly from the point of view of therapy, join choirs – to be able to sing again!
What determination! I marveled at her achievements. She came to our groups for months, would have a break, and then join in again. Always welcomed back. Then, a couple of years later, she started working with Sharon Dean and the book project took on a new momentum.
Jenny would write her accounts of different stages and events post-stroke – dealing with relationships, physical limitations, emotional lows, even. Her main frustration was about how to structure a book around those experiences. She’d been an English teacher before her stroke so she knew she’d need some help to build a solid narrative structure for her writing to shine.
Early on, I could see the value to others as well as Jenny in completing her memoir as a book once it had reached publication standard. So I spoke to one of our writer-mentors, Sharon Dean, a former journalist and academic who was spending a few months in Sydney after finalising a digital storytelling project.
And the match was perfect in so many ways – not least that they’d been members of the same choir in Northern Rivers region of NSW!
There was no doubt in my mind that Jenny’s was a really valuable story and she had a natural story-telling style. There were obstacles, but nothing that couldn’t be overcome. Sharon was a ‘perfectionist’, and I knew she would be assiduous in ensuring all Jenny’s factual recollections and details of medical procedures were correct. They were a great fit for each other, and I was confident Sharon would do Jenny’s story justice.
I like to think that there was an inevitability that Jenny’s story would see the light of day, based on what might be described as love, serendipity, coincidence – as if there really does exist a law of attraction between fine motives, determination, generosity and goodwill.
The bond between Jenny herself and members of the writing group who encouraged her every week and Sharon Dean, her mentor and co-author, myself, and now Barbara Sullivan from 2RPH, who has been so committed in producing a quality audio book, is a treasure from which we’ve all benefitted.
Thanks for your friendship Jenny – and best wishes for your book out in the big wide world!
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