Caron McKinlay
Laura Pearson
Author, mum, feminist, reader.
Laura has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Chichester. She lives in Leicestershire with her husband and their two children. Her third novel, I Wanted You To Know, is available now.
Rep'd by @kateeevans @PFDAgents
Tell us about yourself?
My most recent book came out in 2019 and is called I Wanted You To Know. It's about 21-year-old Jess dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis while also learning to be a mother to her baby daughter Edie. I hope it's a sort of love letter to life. I wrote it after having breast cancer, as a way of purging my fears.
Are you working on something now?
I'm actually working on a proposal for a non-fiction book about how we deal with change. It's part-memoir, about my own health crisis of having cancer while pregnant, but incorporates all sorts of big life changes, both good and bad. It's been so different from writing a novel and I hope I get to write the whole book.
Which six books will you take to the Island?
This has been so hard. I've really struggled! Part of me really wanted to take something I haven't read before, but it seemed too much of a risk.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
I've read this novel about four times (and I'm not a re-reader) and always find something new in it. It's funny and so tender and moving and it has such a lot to say about being a human.
The World According to Garp by John Irving
I feel like nobody tells a story quite like Irving, and Garp is my favourite that I've read of his.
I don't want to give any spoilers but there's a tragedy that he just drops in in the middle of a paragraph - you could almost miss it at first, and I think the way he does it is mind blowing.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
It's so predictable, but I first read this at fifteen and it's been a good friend over the years. I feel like it would be comforting to have a copy on hand.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
I first read this in my early twenties and I've never been so floored by use of language before or since. It's an absolute work of art, and so rich that I'm sure I could read it over and over.
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
I had to read this one twice for university, oddly, and it had such a big impact on me. I learned so much about what you can do with language from it. It's very beautiful.
The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech
Louise Beech writes with more heart than anyone else I can think of. I still haven't devoured her back catalogue because I'm always reading proofs of brand new books, but this, my first book of hers, is so special, so full of compassion.
Which disc will you choose?
Famous Blue Raincoat by Leonard Cohen
This is my favourite song and I never tire of listening to it. Plus, after about a thousand listens, I still don't know exactly what's going on in it and I wouldn't mind spending some more time trying to work that out.
What is your luxury item?
A photo of my family. I spend a lot of time looking at my children's faces, and I'd miss them so much if I couldn't do that.
Which fictional character will you meet?
I'd like to meet Daisy Jones, from Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I think she'd have some incredible stories to tell.
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