The Man Who Didn't Go To Newcastle

Description

Alison Clink’s brother Adrian was admitted to hospital in the summer of 2007 with a cut hand and low blood pressure. Tests had led to serious concerns and Adrian had a biopsy on his lung. As her unmarried brother’s next of kin, Alison juggled her home life in Somerset – at a time when her four children still lived at home – with long-distance hospital visiting. She tried her best to cope and make plans when Adrian eventually told her that he’d been given a year to live. “I realised I was in an extraordinary place in my life,” says Alison, who at that point decided to document Adrian’s story. One notebook turned into five as she recorded each day, starting with Adrian’s diagnosis. In diarising that strange summer of 2007, Alison not only documented the final memories of her beloved brother, but she also wrote her way through many dark and difficult days. “Writing about something traumatic in one’s life is a good way to deal with what’s going on. They say writing is cathartic, which is a cliché but true, but what I did also gave me a sense of detail that I’d never have retained had I not kept my notebooks.” The Man Who Didn’t Go To Newcastle is a unique combination of pathos, humour and an insight into what happens when ordinary lives are faced with the extraordinary. Much of the book details the relationship between Alison and her brother and how it was tested as he deteriorated.