Out of family agony comes a book of joy

A NORTHUMBERLAND mum has turned one of the darkest times in her life into a book filled with storytelling, countryside creatures, and family recipes.

- 

For much of 2022, Clara Nicholl spent long days at her daughter Elsie's bedside in hospital.

Elsie, then aged 10, had had a devastating quad bike accident on the family farm in Haydon Bridge and was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

She spent several months fighting for her life having sustained multiple injuries in the accident.

As she spent hours on hospital wards, Clara started to write, jotting down recipes, sketching animals, and imagining a whimsical cast of woodland and farmyard animals hosting a grand countryside cook-off.