Your Stories...
“Shadrick wrote The Cure for Sleep to chart her reinvention from shy, small-town outsider to someone stamping their presence on artistic and literary life…and she wants to help others follow in her footsteps.” The IPaper
If my book The Cure for Sleep shows how it was to be me - a wife and mother in a small town, yearning for a larger life - this project is where I’m inviting you to share the most important parts of your life story in return. All submissions receive feedback from me. And until the end of 2024, I will also curate your work over on thecureforsleep.com so that you can reach a readership beyond Substack.
Begin exploring stories already written in response to each theme using the links below, or enjoy a sample piece by each contributor in the regularly-updated A to Z section at the bottom of this page. After reading, I hope you’ll be inspired to become one of our storytellers yourself.
The About section explains how easy it is to join in.
Season 3 (2023)
Open House | Why Do You Write | Impossible Objects | Stay This Moment | Terrible Questions | Out of Body | Voices Around Us
Season 2 (2022)
Gestures | Reading | Birthday Letters | Mentors | Longing | Friends | Skill | Mirrors | Hands | Play
Season 1 (2021)
Rebirth | Faith | Regret | Desire | Time | Size & Shape | Promises | Choosing | Bonding | Memory Games | Bedtime Stories
Contributors
In this fast-growing community of several thousand active readers, more and more people are taking the next step of becoming writers for the project. And between them, they have already produced hundreds of stories (with more arriving daily). Click on any of the names (in this regularly updated list) to read a story by that author…
Adela Ryle | Alice Dvořák Hughes | Alice Murphy-Pyle | Amanda Scott | Amanda Cooke | Amelia H | Amy Boyd | Amy Millios | Andrea Day | Angela M Cowan | Anna Francis | Anna Marie Laforest | Anne Calajoe | Annie Worsley | Anoushka Yeoh | Aoife Boyle | Barrie Thomson | Becky Handley | Becs Mackenzie | Caitlin Cornec | Caro Giles (writing as Caro Fentiman) | Carole Mahood | Carolyn Dew | Catharine Grayburn | Catherine Davies | Catherine Kernot | Cathy Robinson | Charlotte Dawson | Chloë Jones | Claire Everett | Claire Storrow | Corinne Kagan | Davina Adamson | Debbie Yearsley Davidson | Diane Auby | E E Rhodes | Eileen Anderson | Eimear Gallagher | Elena | Ellie Hobson | Emily Tamas | Emma Willsteed | Erika Cleveland | Faye Davidson | Fionnuala O'Shea | Fran Pollard | Genevieve Dutton | Geoff Cox | Heidi Reinsch | Helen Callear | Helen Louise | Holly Nicholls | Ian Tattum | J Sinclair | Jackie Goode | Jan Hillier | Jane Adams | Jane Burnett | Janine Matho | Jean Wilson | Jen Ratcliffe | Jeni Bell | Jenni | Jennifer Carter | Jess | Jessica Carroll | Jill MacCormack | Jo Regan | Joanna Hall | Joanne Baker | Jodi | Joy Llewellyn-Beardsley | Julie Benham | Julie Schmidt | Kaz Field | Kerry Whitley | Kit Dawson | Kristin Lang | Laine Thompson | Larissa Reid | Laura | Lauren McGregor | Lauren Longshaw | Lisha Zulkepli | Lou Hudson | Louise Newman | Louise Ratcliffe | Louise Stead | Lucy Beckley | Lucy Lichen | M Nivalis | Margaret O'Brien | Maria James | Maria Simoes | Marie Leahy Stark | Marika O’S | Marilyn Daniels | Maurni O'Beirne | Michelle Geffken | Michelle Reich | Mike Winter | Miranda R Waterton | Molly Cooper | Monique Kennedy | Nancy Hassen | Natalie Dawson | Nicola Pitchford | Nicola Veal | Oakley Torrens | Paul Gamble | Paul Miller | Peter Hamer | Peter Shukie | Pipp Warner | Rebecca Broad | Rebecca Perkins | Rosalyn Huxley | Rosemary Kirkus | Rowan Ambrose | Ruth Petherick | Sally Harrop | Sally Wetherall | Sara Stegen | Sarah Connor | Sarah Playforth | Sharon C | Sheila de Courcy | Sheila Knell | Sophie Pierce | Steve Harrison | Stevie | Sue Reed | Sue Tanton | Susan Bennett | Susan Wuorinen | Susanna | Suse | Susi Mawhinney | Suzanne Brewer | Tam Dean Burn | Tamsin Grainger | Tania King | The Unhurried Reader | Tim LeRoy | Tracey Kennedy | Tracey Mayor | Vanessa Wright | Victor Milesan | Wendy Bispham | Wendy Clifford | Wendy Knerr | Zofia K Stanley
“If you’re writing away by yourself and anxious about showing your work to others, here’s a lovely opportunity to share in a kind, supportive space. Have a look. Take the leap. I’m so glad I did” Sheila de Courcy