Mary Anne's story is both ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary because she was searching for the same things many of us search for: love, understanding and purpose, and extraordinary because she had to go through hell to find them.


Her life was turbulent. Born in a decaying northern town to a dysfunctional family in the 1960s, Mary Anne had to endure mental, physical and sexual abuse and cope with the devastating effects of parental alcoholism and suicide. She had her self-esteem and confidence crushed by two disastrous marriages and she lives with the emotional and physical scars caused by a surgical procedure which has become the medical scandal of our age: mesh implants. But, despite everything, she always remained determined to endure and to find something better.


The Grace of a Nightingale is a brilliantly heartfelt odyssey of survival. Even in her darkest moments, Mary Anne's courage and faith, combined with her passionate appreciation of beauty in nature, books and music, bring glimpses of light and hope. On her journey through life she is supported by her 'mat carriers', both friends and strangers, helping her to triumph over adversity. And, like all the best stories, there is a happy ending.