JOANNA NELL

A British doctor with a penchant for writing fiction is back with a new novel

How does working as a GP inform the nature of your novels?

However much I reassure my readers that my characters and plotlines are purely fictional, it is inevitable that a job as consuming as being a GP, especially one with an interest in aged care, will influence the kind of books I write. To be a good doctor you learn to observe human behaviour, to put yourself into other people’s heads and become comfortable with asking difficult questions – useful skills when writing character-driven stories.

Has the pandemic given you more time to write or have you been overwhelmed workwise?

Early in the pandemic, the physical exhaustion of working all day dressed in PPE coupled with a constant low level of anxiety seemed to drain all my creative energy and I found it difficult to write anything at all. By prioritising self-care and making some changes to my medical work schedule, I’ve found a better balance and am happy to report that the words are flowing again.

What’s the best book you’ve read?

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott, which is the funniest, most candid and totally relatable reflection on writing and publishing I’ve ever read.

A book that had a pivotal impact on your life?

Growing up as a “shy” child I’d always viewed my introversion as a character flaw until I read Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. This book triggered a profound shift in the way I saw my personality and helped me realise that my cravings for quiet and solitude were actually ideal traits for a writer.

The book you couldn’t finish?

Gray’s Anatomy by Roger Warwick and Peter Williams. My 1981 version, a gift from my grandmother on entering medical school, is 1578 pages long and weighs almost 4kg.

A book you wish you had read but haven’t got to?

The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd has been sitting unopened. The book you are most proud to have written?

With the protagonist in my second novel, The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker, living with memory impairment, I faced the challenge of incorporating an unreliable narrator and a dual timeline into what is ultimately a love story. I was very cognisant of the need to treat the subject of dementia with sensitivity and respect, and also to do justice to my own personal experience of working as a ship’s doctor.

What book do you re-read?

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, my favourite book as a child.

What books are on your bedside table?

This month my book club is reading Still Life by Sarah Winman, and I can highly recommend my current read, Kelly Rimmer’s The Warsaw Orphan. What are you writing now?

I am in the early stages of a novel featuring a retired doctor who faces an ethical dilemma.

The Tea Ladies of St Jude’s Hospital by Joanna Nell: Hachette, $33