Five Days

By Drew Payne

How many days does it take to change a life?

Twelve-year-old Byron does not know what lies ahead of him, he does not know how his life will be changed. All he does know is that he’s been sent out to play in the garden while his beloved father visits. And he knows his mother’s cough is getting worse.

He also knows that people are ignoring him and not telling him what is really happening.

This novella is set over five different days, over five consecutive months, as Bryon faces loss and grief and an adult world that is rushing past him.

This story is a child’s eye view of terminal illness and loss, asking awkward questions about how we treat children when faced with it, do parents always know best?

If you enjoyed the novels of David Leavitt, Michael Arditti, Maria McCann, Michael Cunningham and Jodi Picoult, why not try this novella.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Drew Payne
• Release date: Apr 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798444228135

Drew Payne

I live and work in London, England, which has influenced a lot of my writing.My short stories have appeared in the anthologies, Showtime 2020, Showtime 2019, The Monster in My Closet, Eros at Large, A Boxful of Ideas and Boys in Bed. My essay, More Than Just Making Beds and Emptying Bedpans, was published in the collection Nurses on the Run.Plus, my short stories have been published in the journals Chroma, ScotsGay, Creative Week, Flash Fiction Magazine, Indie Scene and Gazebo; and have been performed as part of the literary salon, Are You Sitting Comfortably.I am also a regular contributor to the magazines BJN, BJCN, and Nursing Standard, and for the Nursing Standard I have been a guest editor.My sketches have been performed in the satirical review shows Treason Show and Newsrevue.

Book preview

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