ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jean was born and brought up in South Harrow, West London.  She was born just before Christmas 1936, five days after the Abdication of Edward VIII.  Very soon after her family swelled as she was joined by four half-siblings from her father’s first marriage – not the best start in life for her parents’ newly-formed relationship. However, her mother did a magnificent job caring for a family of seven.  Repercussions, however, eventually came to the surface during 1944.

When WW2 was declared Jean was less than three years old and almost overnight her family of seven had been reduced to three.  The eldest three siblings were conscripted and her father volunteered to serve in the Royal Engineers, although over the age for conscription. Life rapidly changed from its pre-war existence of which Jean has some hazy memories of her own.  After war was declared she remembers a great deal of how the family drama played out amidst the backdrop of the world war and afterwards in austerity Britain.

At the age of 34 Jean finally made it to university as a mature student, studying Sociology and Psychology Honours at Brunel University.  Amongst other family challenges, this was a feat of time management, as by now she had three little children of her own.  Subsequently, given her strong sense of social justice, she decided to train as a psychiatric social worker.  Many years of working at Northwick Park Hospital Psychiatric Unit, Harrow, led to her interest in psycho-dynamic approaches to mental illness.

To this end Jean took a five-year training as a Jungian Analyst, aided by a legacy from her mother, and has worked in this field ever since.  For many years she headed up a psychotherapy service, funded by the London Borough of Hounslow. Since then, she has had a private practice in West London.  After she was widowed in 2017 Jean developed an interest in Creative Writing and has written a number of short stories and poems, yet to be published.