Suddenly, While Living
"Words newspapers use in articles about medically unexplained illnesses that you rarely see in articles about medically explained illnesses: Claim, Insist, Convince, Purported, Evidence, Disputed, Baffled, Phantom, Believe, Imaginary, Controversial, Fantasy, Freaky, Unusual, Bizarre, Real, Not real."
Suddenly, while living, Rosie's body stopped. Too ill to function as she did before, and with a trail of baffled doctors in her wake, Rosie works to find new meaning in this rollercoaster we call life, taking us along for the ride.
Breaking down the walls between memoir, self-help, comedy, and poetry, Suddenly, While Living is Rosie’s telling of her first year with her mystery illness as she grapples with love, loss, religion and, of course, her health. Rosie’s rare gift for writing informally while maintaining a great depth of meaning will have you laughing and crying in equal measure, leaving you with a whole new outlook on life.
About the Author
Rosie Driffill works as a writer and psychotherapist. Having spent years writing about language, sustainable living and mental health for various publications including the Guardian, Wanderlust and Therapy Today, she began exploring the same themes in poetry. Her debut pamphlet, Blue-Green Algae, is about nature’s demise and the flaws in human nature.
Her memoir of surviving an undiagnosed illness, Suddenly, While Living, was published by Valley Press in 2021. Rosie describes her memoir as being almost as accidental as her illness, but insists poetry is ‘unflinchingly deliberate, a fully-furnished comfort zone.’ She currently lives in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
Vital Statistics
Imprint: Valley Press
Edition: First (January 2021)
Paperback ISBN: 9781912436538
Catalogue number: VP0174
Page count: 224
Trim size: 198x129mm
