Amy White, Jo Hird and Debbie Enever join Beverley Ward to discuss how they turned grief into books, and to relaunch of Dear Blacksmith

Ten years on from the death of her partner, Blacksmith Paul, our founder, Beverley Ward is relaunching her memoir, Dear Blacksmith (https://amzn.eu/d/0epmO5qP), under her own imprint, Pebble Press.

Joining her are authors - Amy White, Jo Hird and Debbie Enever - who have also created memoirs from their experiences of loss.

In this special event to mark the opening of Grief Awareness Week, the authors will talk about how they used writing to process grief and about the journeys they've been on since bereavement and as authors.

Books will be on sale at the event.

About the authors

Beverley Ward is the founder of The Writers Workshop. In 2016 her new partner died suddenly and Beverley turned to writing as a way to process loss. Her blog was read by over 200,000 people and she was invited to the House of Commons as a 'thought-leader in the world of bereavement.' She wrote regularly for The Huffington Post (https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/beverley-ward) and her memoir, Dear Blacksmith (https://amzn.eu/d/0epmO5qP), was published by Valley Press in February 2020. Because of the pandemic and catastrophic subsequent events in the author's family life, the book never received the reach it deserved and so Beverley has regained the rights and is relaunching it today.

Amy White is a literary agent, international bestselling ghostwriter, editor, author, and publishing consultant with more than 12 years’ experience helping people bring meaningful writing into the world. Formerly Editor in Chief at Mindvalley (https://www.mindvalley.com/), she has worked with authors and publishers including Penguin Random House (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/) and Hay House (https://www.hayhouse.co.uk/). She is the founder of The White Editorial (https://thewhiteeditorial.com/), creator of The Book Publishing Guide (https://thebookpublishingguide.com/), and author of Hiking for Her: Lust, Loss and Life Lessons on the Camino de Santiago (https://www.waterstones.com/book/hiking-for-her/amy-white/9781915606686). (https://amzn.eu/d/00wE6P3e)

Jo Hird is Head of Spiritual Care at St Luke's Hospice, where she supports patients, families and staff through some of life's most challenging circumstances. Jo has published two books. Her first, Spike and the Blue Chair (https://amzn.eu/d/0cy80Mo4), tells the story of her blended family following the loss of her first husband. Her second book, Comfort in the Valley (https://amzn.eu/d/0dXudnsR), is a deeply personal memoir exploring themes of grief, healing and hope through the lens of Psalm 23, particularly its powerful image of "the valley of the shadow of death". Drawing on both personal experience and professional insight, she shows how suffering can shape us, prepare us to support others, and ultimately lead us towards comfort, resilience and renewed hope.

Debbie Enever is a graduate of the University of Manchester's Creative Writing MA. Her memoir, Midowed (https://amzn.eu/d/00wE6P3e), was long-listed for the Bridport Memoir Prize in 2022. The book follows Debbie's grief journey over the first year of loss after the death of her 15 year old son Dan in 2018, interwoven with Dan's life story from birth to his last day. There's pain, friendship, love, and quite a bit of football...In 2024, Debbie launched the Bereaved Parents' Club podcast, sharing stories, support and information to parents who've experienced a loss.

Description supplied by the event organiser.