Gifts
The tremendous news that scientists have discovered a way of using gene therapy for the treatment of the heartbreaking Huntington's Disease has brought hope for thousands who have to deal with it and the dilemmas it raises.
In the UK 8,000 have it and 32,000 are at risk. For the moment, their chance of a life free of fear remains at fifty-fifty.
A new novel looks at what it can mean to be a Huntington family.
Available in December - GIFTS is a family saga.
A story of fear, betrayal and a love that survives the cruelest separation - a mother from her child. The musical family lives with two secrets. The first threatens the lives of each of them and the second is the knowledge they have given away a child.
"A rare and beautifully written family saga in which a secret legacy haunts each generation."
Barry Walsh, author: The Pimlico Kid and Danny Boy
"Powerful and heartbreaking."
Sue Clark, author: Note to Boy and A Novel Solution
"This book, without being sensational, captures many of the issues families face and the secrecy that can shroud the illness."
Cath Stanley, Chief Executive, Huntington's Disease Association
Lesley Bootiman
An award winning comedy scripwriter, newspaper and television journalist
Gifts is her first novel
