This is a story of six very different and very ill women, and although it may sound bizarre, it is an incredibly heart-lifting story. Penny is the central character who encounters these five other women, or more accurately, patients, when she is admitted to hospital. Bay C is the respiratory ward, and while Penny is being treated physically for her lung disease, we discover a woman who has been suffocating mentally her whole life. As a result, her self-esteem is practically non-existent.
You get the impression that Penny would normally be a patient that would keep herself to herself, but ward C has a rather outspoken girl called Josie, and as everyone discovers, ignoring her in never really an option. She says it has she sees it and can be extremely blunt, but there is a kindness in her that will eventually draw the others together.
The other four beds are occupied by Kat the vicar, which no-one would have guessed because of her tattoos; Amina, who is quiet and unassuming; Violet, a terrible snob who can’t understand why she isn’t in a private room; Barbara – elderly, frail, and appears to have lost a mouse.
The story of these six women develops deliberately slowly to begin with, drawing us into each individual narrative until we are absolutely hooked.
Liz Carter writes with a real knowledge of the sights, sounds, and inner workings of a hospital ward, which she uses to transport the reader into the environment our characters find themselves in. Once there, you can’t help but cheer them on as their individual weaknesses gives way to a collective strength.
This story is both heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time. It tackles real issues and struggles faced by so many, highlighting why the need to be kind is so important. In kindness, we build friendships, and in friendship we find courage and strength.
Narrow Path Ministries 