Black History Month celebrated at Queen’s Hospital with special talk from author.

Today, as part of Black History Month, Queen’s Hospital will host a special visitor. Author Sarah Lee will be reading a chapter from her debut novel-An Ocean Apart. She will also host a Q and A session to mark Black History Month.
Inspired by real life stories of the Windrush Generation and her mother’s own experiences as a nurse coming to Britain from the Caribbean, Sarah’s is a must for fans of Call the Midwife.
It’s 1954 and, in Barbados, Ruby Haynes spots an advertisement for young women to train as nurses for
the new National Health Service in Great Britain. Her sister, Connie, takes some persuading, but soon the sisters are on their way to a new country – and a whole new world of experiences.
As they start their training in Hertfordshire, they discover England isn’t quite the promised land; for every door that’s opened to them, the sisters find many slammed in their faces. And though the girls find friendships with their fellow nurses, Connie struggles with being so far from home, and keeping secret the daughter she has left behind in search of a better life for the both of them . . .
Sarah Lee’s debut historical novel, An Ocean Apart, is set in the 1950s and follows the lives of three young women from the Caribbean as they come to England in search of a new life, training to be nurses.
About the Author
Sarah Lee has been a journalist and editor for the past twenty-five years, working across news and features and writing for regional and national newspapers, as well as commissioning for women’s true-life magazines.

Sarah told the Havering Daily: “This is my first event at a hospital and I’m delighted to be joining them at Queen’s Hospital to talk about the heritage of foreign workers that have manned the service over the years. They also have a lot of foreign workers at the hospital so it’s a great fit. I will also be awarding prizes (including copies of my book) for their BHM (Black History Month) Stars – according to my contact at the hospital this is a group of people who have excelled in being positive and helpful to the BAME Network and have made a difference to others. I’m delighted to be sharing in this celebration.

It’s important that we all understand how our culture and our vital institutions come about, An Ocean Apart tells the authentic story of people whose contributions to our health and welfare and society in general have long been overlooked.”