This week, Sally has been reflecting on her ‘orphan power’, a phrase once applied to her by Will Self, and her relationship with orphaned literary characters such as Jane Eyre. Listen for a meditation on isolation, belonging, and the communities that art can provide.

The extracts performed here involving Jane Eyre and Miss Marple are from Sally’s first coming of age novel, Girl with Dove (William Collins, 2018).

The wonderful piano music in the opening section is 'Rain', by Paul Sebastian.

This episode was partially inspired by Sally being asked to speak at a symposium on ‘The Impact of Lived Experience on Care Associated Research by Care Experienced Researchers’, convened by Dr Annie Skinner, a Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes University. More information on Dr Skinner’s work can be found here.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.