Newport Mum Michelle publishes Q&A children’s books dealing with lympheodema

A 37-year-old mum from Newport has written a series of books which deal with family health issues and the questions children ask.

Michelle Freke, 37 is the mother of 2 children, Junior and Cassidy and says that she has been writing since she was 14.

She said: “I tend write about the people around me. My 1st book Jj and Cass is a book thats inclusive and celebrates diversity and was written for my children.

“This latest addition is written with my mother in mind. She has suffered greatly with lower limb lymphoedema and my children as well as some adults would stare or question her condition.

“The LSN offer my mum advice and provide her bandages etc. There are far more people than we initially realised living with this condition, so at the beginning of lockdown March I began my ‘outstanding project’.

“I made a vegetable patch, decorated and in the evenings I wrote. I completed the 1st draft quite quickly and sent it to the lympheodema Support Network, who loved it from the get go.

“They said they would back me to make it happen. We found an illustrator Andy Godfrey and once the editing was done in collaboration with the LSN it was cleared by a medical expert as patient information then published by Jelly Bean publishing Cardiff, who also printed my 1st book.

“While the book is mine and copyrighted to me I have wavered any profits from the sales so that they all go to the charity. I have a few books at home that i can post out if i’m contacted directly or they are available from the link below.

https://www.lymphoedema.org/product/super-nan-and-the-secret-support-network-book/

“I’ve just completed my 3rd book which is a book of poetry (Olivia Otter) and hope to have it in print soon.”