Many thanks to Louise Kenward for interviewing me for a piece published today on the BMJ Medical Humanities Blog in which we talk about the new extended version of Breastless (published at Life Writing Projects) and about creativity when facing surgery.
Louise Kenward is a visual artist based in East Sussex. She was awarded an MA with Distinction in Fine Art from Sir John Cass School of Art, London Metropolitan University, in 2011. Currently writing, she draws on her own life experience, travels with 19th century writer Annie Brassey, and an ongoing exploration of liminal spaces. Louise is an Applied Psychologist and Cognitive Analytic Therapist who worked for twenty years in mental health services. More information on www.louisekenward.com and www.a-n.co.uk/person/louise-kenward/ where she blogs about her ongoing research in Body of Water. Louise tweets @bexhill2bexhill. She too has work on Life Writing Projects.
Clare Best 
Great interview, love the way you talk about public & private and really identify with having a mother who was very private as a woman & a cancer survivor.
Thanks, Maria. Such intriguing differences between generations and across time. It feels important to acknowledge how it was for our mothers and yet to say how that silence felt, and to change things as we go.
Clare, so proud of you!!
A really thought-provoking and sensitive interview.
Silence can be both golden and toxic, depending on context.
Catherine x
Thank you, Catherine. I know my dear mother would be proud of my work, and my aunt and my cousin too. xx