I’d had a very troubled marriage for years which resulted in some bad mental health problems for me, and I ended up in a residential home for a bit. Coinciding with coming back home I started coming to Carisbrooke House.
I like the atmosphere, the café is good food and really cheap, and the staff are brilliant – always here for you, ready to help you out. My family are really enthusiastic too. But the biggest thing for me has been their creative writing course. They suggested a short story so I wrote one but I left it open-ended and everyone wanted more. I’ve now written 130 pages, and it has just released me so much.
I’m getting out a lot of what’s inside me, my creative side, and I’m noticing other people more because I’m looking for inspiration for my stories – it’s made me look outside myself, what people do, the way they talk. I’m paying more attention to my family and I think it’s helped me with my self-esteem.
I think that Together, by giving me creative writing, has done a brilliant job! I’m better than I’ve been in years – all through Together and English Literature!
Illustration by Sybil Harris.
* Name has been changed. |