Linda Cracknell's emergence as one of Scotland's finest short story writers is confirmed with the publication of her first collection, Life Drawing. The 19 stories in this collection begin with the experience of childhood and take the reader on a journey through themes of abandonment, isolation, grief, awakenings, disillusionment and reconciliation to arrive, inevitably, at old age. She is a precise observer of incidents, which, often perverse and absurd, reveal the human spirit in all its strength and humor.