“My school was nowhere so dramatic as the Cornish coastline. The nearest sea was the one frozen in the chalk of the nearby Downs which undulated their way from east to west.”
“It is a raw anatomy of motherhood. A deep incision, revealing the otherworldly gore beneath the veil of muslins and cot sheets: "What to Expect When You're Expecting" it is not…”
“I lay in bed planning escape routes in the event of a domestic fire, and had wild dreams in which I had to stay hidden from unseen eyes, or else the world would end.”
“Crows stepped carefully on the shady lawns, peering beyond their beaks, waiting for something. Cobalt dragon and damsel flies zinged in my peripheral vision. And then I caught sight of something monolithic.”
“Walking up our road on a sunny day entails staccato sprint bursts through the sunshine, followed by a painstaking crawl through the shade cast by the large plane trees which line the street.”
“A bouncy swimming pool stood before them. Their two avatars then spent some time jumping up and down happily on her wild and wonderful invention. What a joyful reward for letting someone in”
“When Spike was smaller, I remember giving him gifts that he liked so much, he couldn't look at them directly - only squint at them using his peripheral vision.”
“The witch had a cat familiar, but it remained in a wicker hamper, securely belted to the rear of the broomstick. I clearly doubted the physical probability of a small cat hanging on to the vehicle…”
“Sometimes, when we are asked "How was your day?" or "How are you?", we want to cast aside the "fine" that is bubbling on our lips and actually tell you.”
“Things were turned around for Spike when he found a tall, straight stick and announced that he was "taking it home to put in my bedroom. If I get a bad leg, I'll have a stick!"“
“When we met with Spike's paediatrician for the first time, the words poured out of us like milk. We were grateful for a chance at certainty after months of carrying around this leaden question. "Is he autistic?".”
