“Writing is my therapy!”

From resident to writer: Rebecca starts an exciting chapter and hopes to support others with the power of writing.

Staffs Housing resident Rebecca has lived at Oliver Lodge in Stoke for the last two years. At our recent Customer Roadshow event, Rebecca shared how it was her love for fantasy books that convinced her to move in and told us about an exciting achievement.

This term Rebecca starts a new and exciting chapter of her life, starting a masters in creative writing at the University of Staffordshire.

After using writing to get through some of the darker times in her life, supporting others to do the same, and even writing her very own fantasy novel about grief, Rebecca says she’s excited for what the future has in store for her.

“I’ve lived at Oliver Lodge for the past two years, and I love it here”, said Rebecca.

“I adore writing and have a passion for the fantasy genre because it’s great to just escape from reality for a bit.

“It was actually my love for writing which made me fall in love with my home here at Oliver Lodge. When I had my first viewing, I fell in love with the charming circle window which reminded me of something from out of one of my fantasy novels. I could picture myself looking at the window and feeling inspired to write.”

Rebecca says she always loved to write, but it was only when she got older that she discovered it was therapeutic and began to write more.

“When I was younger, I lived opposite a library, and found myself visiting to pick up a new book”, continued Rachel.

“As I got older, I wrote more because I found it incredibly therapeutic and decided to do more of it.

“I completed a degree in English. I was so proud of this achievement because I was the first in my family to attend uni, and my mum was so incredibly proud of me.”

Rebecca shares how writing got her through darker times in her life.

“While I was completing my studies, my mum developed Cancer. It was such a difficult time having to juggle my studies while trying to take care of mum, and eventually she lost her battle and passed”, explained Rebecca.  

“As a result, I struggled with my mental health and felt like I’d lost a part of myself.

“Friends didn’t really understand what I was going through, or any idea about the true impact of grief and I felt alone.

“This sparked me to write a fantasy novel about the different stages of grief to truly highlight the stages of grief and its impact. It helped me to forget about what was going on and gave me something else to focus my mind on.   

“It enabled me to use my feelings and experiences to shine a light on a subject that’s not really talked about. I wanted to hopefully help or support others going through grief to help them feel less alone.”

(Photo source: University of Staffordshire)

Rebecca shares that this experience made her fall back in love with writing after a turbulent time, which inspired her to help others and further her studies.

“I wanted to do more to help and support others in my community”, said Rebecca.

“Because I found writing so useful, I decided to volunteer in my community, by hosting a poetry workshop.

“It was all about how writing can be used as a healthy outlet in life and it was so great to see people coming along and being able to just escape reality for half an hour.

“That experience motivated me to apply to do a creative writing masters at the University of Staffordshire and helped me fall back into love with writing again.

“I got accepted onto the course and was even able to shape it so it’s individual to me too.

“I’m super excited for this next chapter of my life, and I can’t wait to use everything I learn to keep supporting others too.”