GATEHOUSE author Karen Campbell is set to discuss her newest release at Paisley Book Festival later this month.
Her latest book, ‘This Bright Life’, tells the story of a 12-year-old boy navigating life in foster care, alongside the life of the woman who inadvertently put him there.
Described as a “heartbreaking and yet brimful of humour, compassion and hope”, it is a story about messy lives and second chances. And it is one which former Glasgow police officer Campbell, who lives in Gatehouse of Fleet , believes will strike a chord when she appears at this year’s three-day Paisley Book Festival.
Speaking ahead of her appearance, she said: “This Bright Life ties in really well with the theme of Paisley Book Festival.
“The cover of the book is, visually, a tenement idea. Very much at the forefront of my mind is this idea of all the lives we live side-by-side. That you can be through the wall from somebody and you don’t know that person.
“You might nod to them on the stair, or you might not given that more and more we live in isolated wee pockets. But there’s still that underpinning of community.
“I was very interested in this notion of how we are all separate entities, but they kind of touch each other.
“This Bright Life is about how a boy’s life spirals over one summer and who helps him – those quiet voices and helping hands, and who hinders him as well.”
Campbell says her book helps to highlight the way in which young people can seize opportunities which they did not realise existed, she added: “It’s about the fact you only get one life – and it’s not your fault how that life begins. So who’s going to help shine a light on it for you?”
Paisley Book Festival 2025 runs from April 25-27.
