Elaine Kingett, 70
Elaine runs weekly writing and mindfulness meditation workshops in North London and writing, walking and meditation retreats in Andalucia. She is also a journalist
“My parents used to hit me and told me I was mad from a young age. That’s why I started writing in a notebook, because it was a way of saying how I felt without being interrupted or told I was wrong. I had to fight my way through childhood – and that’s probably what made me the bolshy little arse that I am today. I think my mother was probably a bit jealous of me. When I passed the 11-plus and then went to art school, her attitude was that I’d got way above myself.
I would have gone with anyone to get away from all of that, but Jerry, who I met when I was 17, just so happened to be a really good man. He gave me back my self-esteem and my self-respect. We argued all the time but it was a happy marriage and we always fancied each other.
