Longlisted: The Hope Prize 2025 ‘Marked in the Margins’

These days there is so much in the media - rightly so - on the importance of acknowledging early baby loss at the time when it happens. Parents need space to grieve, and space to recover. But this story tackles the notion of a woman who, decades after the event, has never been able to fully accept losing her first child. At a time in her life when her other children are grown and flown the nest, she receives an unexpected visitor … and finds that she’s not only catapulted back into the past, but also questioning the reality before her eyes. I was thrilled to have this story longlisted for the international The Hope Prize 2025, picked out from over 2500 global entries.