Anne Goodwin

After half a century confined in a psychiatric hospital, Matty has moved to a care home on the Cumbrian coast. Next year, she'll be a hundred, and she intends to celebrate in style. Yet, before she can make the arrangements, her 'maid' goes missing.Irene, a care assistant, aims to surprise Matty with a birthday visit from the child she gave up for adoption as a young woman. But, when lockdown shuts the care-home doors, all plans are put on hold. But Matty won't be beaten. At least not until the Black Lives Matter protests burst her bubble and buried secrets come to light.Will she survive to a hundred? Will she see her 'maid' again? Will she meet her long-lost child? Rooted in injustice, balanced with humour, this is a bittersweet story of reckoning with hidden histories in cloistered times.

In the dying days of the old asylums, three paths intersect.Henry was only a boy when he waved goodbye to his glamorous grown-up sister; approaching sixty, his life is still on hold as he awaits her return.As a high-society hostess renowned for her recitals, Matty's burden weighs heavily upon her, but she bears it with fortitude and grace.Janice, a young social worker, wants to set the world to rights, but she needs to tackle challenges closer to home.A brother and sister separated by decades of deceit. Will truth prevail over bigotry, or will the buried secret keep family apart?In this, her third novel, Anne Goodwin has drawn on the language and landscapes of her native Cumbria and on the culture of long-stay psychiatric hospitals where she began her clinical psychology career.

What shapes the way we see ourselves?An administrator is forced into early retirement; a busy doctor needs a break. A girl discovers her sexuality; an older man explores a new direction for his. An estate agent seeks adventure beyond marriage; a photojournalist retreats from an overwhelming world. A woman reduces her carbon footprint; a woman embarks on a transatlantic affair. A widow refuses to let her past trauma become public property; another marks her husband's passing in style.Thought-provoking, playful and poignant, these 42 short stories address identity from different angles, examining the characters' sense of self at various points in their lives. What does it mean to be a partner, parent, child, sibling, friend? How important is work, culture, race, religion, nationality, class? Does our body, sexuality, gender or age determine who we are?Is identity a given or can we choose the someone we become?

Fiction on the Web is the internet's longest-running short stories website. Since 1996, it has published over a thousand stories - and these are fifty-four of the very best.Features stories by Rob Boffard, Rotimi Babatunde, Hanja Kochansky, Fred Skolnik, Anne Goodwin and 49 other authors. Edited by Charlie Fish, and with a foreword by author and educator Julia Bell.All proceeds from this book are donated to the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust."54 irresistible short stories. Buy 'em without a blink." - Richard E. Grantwww.fictionontheweb.co.uk