A genetic time bomb

June 2026

I am so excited to share some background on my WIP, Darling Child, with you.

This manuscript has been in gestation for a long time. It began nearly a decade ago, after Pope Francis met a global delegation of families affected by Huntington’s Disease, a rare progressive neurological disorder. Huntington’s Disease is an inherited condition that is deeply stigmatised in many parts of the world. On 17 May 2017, during a special Vatican audience, Pope Francis publicly declared that Huntington’s Disease – for which there is no treatment and no cure – should be ‘hidden no more’.

The Pope’s message gave hope to thousands of families around the world. It also made me ask: What would it be like to know that a genetic time bomb ran in your family – and what would it be like not to know that it did?

I have pondered this question for years, and over time, the story of Joe and Anna Weston began to grow around it and demanded to be heard. I’m now working on my third draft of this novel and continue to grapple with the questions it raises.

What is identity?

What is love?

What is courage?

Do we have a ‘right’ to know, and then a right (or obligation) to share (or not share) what we know?

There is no easy answer, and I still don’t know how the physical, mental and moral dilemmas will play out. But I am trusting Joe and Anna to tell me what they want to say, and I hope they find a way forward that will protect each of them and the people they love. 

I invite you to join me in sharing their journey, their fears, and their lives.