Press Release
30th January 2026 | Paperback | £12.99 | 978-1919250403
Gifts - Lesley Bootiman
A story of fear, betrayal and a love that survives the cruellest separation...
Like many teenage girls growing up in the 60s, Bella Greig wants to be a pop star. When her dream becomes a reality, she leaves the close-knit community of the north-east behind for London. And with it, the pressures of a family driven by ambition and haunted by decades of trauma and a deadly secret. For she hasn’t just inherited her incredible musical talent but a terrifying legacy, the threat of Huntington’s Disease.
When quiet and reserved Maisie, Bella’s ‘aunt’, meets an older man at work, she dreams of finally having a loving family of her own. But Betty Greig, family matriarch, knows that life as an unwed mother is filled with problems of its own - and she isn’t prepared to have the respectability she has fought so hard for shattered by a foolish moment of passion.
And with Huntington’s waiting in the wings, the child stands to inherit more than disgrace and musical talent, there are lives at stake...
Lesley is available for interview and to write features.
For more information or review copies please contact:
‘This book, without being sensational, captures many of the issues families face as well as the secrecy that can shroud the illness.’
Cath Stanley, Chief Executive, The Huntington's Disease Association
‘Powerful and heartbreaking.’
Sue Clark, Note to a Boy and A Novel Solution
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lesley Bootiman is an award-winning comedy scriptwriter, newspaper and broadcast journalist.
Born in the north-east, she now lives between Bristol and Bath. Gifts is her first novel.
'A rare and beautifully written family saga in which a secret legacy haunts each generation.'
Barry Walsh, The Pimlico Kid and Danny Boy
'This book grabs you with real feelings about family and music’s power. It shows how past pain shapes us, but hope stays alive. Simple words make the hurt close and true. A strong read for those who like deep family tales.'
Book Reviews Cafe
16 February 2026
Listen here for Lesley's interview with Louise Hulland
BBC Norfolk
BBC Cambridgeshire
BBC Suffolk
2 February 2026
Listen now!
18 February 2026
“Gifts” by Lesley Bootiman tells a sad story about a family hit hard by Huntington’s disease. It passes down through generations, bringing pain and secrets. The main character, Maisie, shares her life with music that helps and hurts. She feels not good enough and watches over her niece, Bella, from afar. Bella is a young musician scarred by family troubles. The book looks at how families pass on problems, hold to old ways, and hope for better days.
The writing paints clear pictures of happy and sad times. Think Christmas in Newcastle with songs and simple fun, or quiet thoughts on death and guilt. Maisie wishes she could have kept Bella safe from dark family truths. Music acts like a knife—it heals pain but cuts deeper too. The family fights to fix old hurts while dreaming of peace.
The story feels real from the writer’s own life. Family meet-ups at Christmas and on Sundays show strict rules and clashing people. Aunt Betty bosses everyone with her firm ways. Granny works hard, looks sharp, and hides love under tough words. Warm moments mix with tight control, showing love and fights over who we are.
In Granny’s old house, kids play and dream of simple lives. Creaky stairs and plain rooms hold fun games and music on the radio. The older kids sneak listen to jazz and blues, full of feeling. This wild sound fights Granny’s strict rules for a proper life. Family talks show hope, worry, and the pull to be yourself.
A girl shines on stage with a piano and violin. She wins claps for easy pieces but struggles to feel the music. Later, as a teen, she plays safe at first, then lets out her raw heart in a big song. It shows her fight to break free from what others expect. Bella thinks back on family secrets too—granny’s control, aunts’ strong ways, and mixed love.
This book grabs you with real feelings about family and music’s power. It shows how past pain shapes us, but hope stays alive. Simple words make the hurt close and true. A strong read for those who like deep family tales.
18 February 2026
A recent post from the Huntington's Disease Association
Click to view
THE CHILDHOOD BOOKS I CAN’T FORGET
I could say that I can’t imagine there was ever a time in my life without books, but I’m just trying to hide an embarrassing secret. I was slow to read. I can’t believe I’m actually confessing to this. I was the dud of the reading class who groaned in unison when it was my turn.
The solution was swift and effective. My mother dragged me to the village library – open only on Friday evenings – and we chose a book called ‘Penguins.’ By the Monday I was a fluent reader – I consider it the greatest asset a child could have.
Many would call me a ‘low-brow’ reader. I galloped through Enid Blyton and moved on to L M Montgomery – all of the 'Anne of Green Gables' series of course (I was named after Lesley in ‘Anne’s House of Dreams’) - but also a little-known book called ‘Jane of Lantern Hill’ with wonderful descriptions of an idyllic life on Prince Edward Island. And then there was ‘Masterman Ready’ by Captain Marryat. I read this shipwreck survival book so much the pages came apart.
MY FAVOURITE CLASSIC READS
I was soon drawn to the Bronte sisters. It wasn’t just the books of course it was also their story. How could you not feel pity at their situation but also envy that they were able to share their writing with their siblings. I have a battered anthology of 'Jane Eyre', 'Wuthering Heights' and 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' right by my desk. Charlotte’s 'Jane Eyre' will always call to me. The writing is deceptively simple but the story fascinating , if chilling, and the heroine as in so many of their books, ahead of her time. But above them all stands ‘Lark Rise to Candleford’ by Flora Thompson. This time capsule of Victorian England is a huge story told through lots of little stories. Flora wasn’t particularly well educated and I don’t think had any influential connections but she was a Chronicler, an observer and a writer.She was told she would be loved by thousands in the future. Millions would be more accurate..
THE BOOKS I RECOMMEND TO OTHERS
This is a difficult one – there are so many books and I enjoy different ones on different days. But the one that never fails is the Tom Wolfe classic 'Bonfire of the Vanities'. The satirical unravelling of the life of one of the ‘masters of the universe’ in the 1980s is simply compelling. It’s everybody at their worst - greed, hypocrisy, ambition and of course ,class, with racism thrown in for good measure. It is wonderful in its honest awfulness! For something completely different I’d suggest 'Where the Crawdads Sing' by Delia Owens. A young girl abandoned to fend for herself in the marshes of Carolina is wonderful escapism. But how can I not recommend ‘Slow Horses’ by Mick Herron. Disgraced MI officers - It’s funny and I fear laced with truth!
THE BOOK THAT MADE THE MOST IMPACT
‘Lark Rise to Candleford’ – it made me realise that there are wonderful stories all around us and you don’t have to be a literature Don to tell them.
FAVOURITE AUTHOR
I am cheating here because my favourite writer isn’t known for writing books although his screenplays move easily between the screen and the written page. Aaron Sorkin is simply a genius. He’s won every award going for his screenplays. I will particularly mention ‘The West Wing’, ‘Studio 60’ and ‘The Newsroom.’ He is a master of dialogue and this translates into books. I can’t apologise for this because I go back again and again to read the screenplays.
THE BOOK FROM WHICH I TAKE INSPIRATION
I take inspiration from ‘Lark Rise to Candleford. ‘I have always suffered from ‘imposter syndrome’ – what entitles me to have always made a living from writing? Whether it's’ comedy scriptwriting, documentary writing , newspaper and broadcast journalism and now a novel? A few minutes with Flora and I realise we all have stories to tell.
IMPOSSIBLE WISH
To sit down with Flora Thompson, Tom Wolfe and Aaron Sorkin and learn!
4 April 2026
My Life in Books: Lesley Bootiman
18 April 2026
"My family hated answering questions."
Book Review: Gifts by Lesley Boatman
It’s been some time since I’ve picked up a multigenerational story. Gifts has been unlike any other I’ve read, with a large focus on a genetic illness along with external life circumstances.The book follows the Grieg women (Bella, Maisie, Betty, Miss Coleman, Avril, and Kate) through their words with a heavy emphasis on Bella and Maisie’s points of view. We get glimpses of their lives, aspirations, and perspectives on their family and relationships. Scattered throughout are snippets of Bella’s written screenplay as she comes to terms with Aunt Maisie’s life story.
It was interesting learning about Huntington’s disease within the context of the book. It added a unique angle that I haven’t come across in other books. Even though the generational element did enhance that narrative, it also made the book run long. There was enough material that each of the core characters could have been stretched into a series and allowing for more exploration. Nevertheless, I do enjoy a good, complex family dynamic, and this book certainly delivers.
18 April 2026
Northumberland author releases novel on life with Huntington's and female equality.
By Hannah Fitzhugh
One of the North East’s first ever female journalists has released a novel exploring life with a rare disease and the fight for women’s equality.
Lesley Bootiman is an award-winning journalist who was raised in Warkworth. Her debut novel, Gifts is a multi-generational saga that explores the human impact of living with Huntington"s Disease through the eyes of the women in the Greig family.
The book follows Bella Grieg, a teenage girl in the 60s who dreams of being a pop star, but is at risk of inheriting Huntington’s Disease as well as musical talent.Lesley first came across the disease when she was working as a journalist and has been researching it ever since.
“Throughout all my life and my career, I started to hear about it more and more and I gradually built up this full picture of it,” she added.
"If you are from a Huntington’s family, you have hanging over you the possibility of this ghastly disease. If you have children, you have a 50% chance of your children inheriting it.
"But the book isn’t so much about the disease, because I'm not a medic, it's more about the people and how they handle it.”
Gifts has now been supported by the Huntington’s Disease Association just as the first successful treatment of the disease took place last year in a major breakthrough.
Lesley said: “It was the same time they made a big announcement to say that, after so much research, they can now do an operation on the brain which can slow down the development.
“For the people who are living with Huntington’s, it’s just the most astonishing bit of news they could have had.”