The Art of Being Normal

We were very privileged to welcome author, Lisa Williamson, to school on Wednesday. Lisa is best known for her award winning book “The Art of Being Normal”, which tackles the challenges of being a transgender person in a very real and relatable way.

Lisa spoke first to students in Year 9 and 10, focussing on the process of creative writing and talking about where she finds inspiration for her work. Lisa explained how between 2010 and 2012, she had worked as an administrator at the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), based at the world-famous Tavistock Centre in North London. GIDS is the NHS service for under-eighteens struggling with their gender identity. The young people who used the service inspired her to write a story from the point of view of a transgender teenager.

During her talk Lisa read passages from both “The Art of Being Normal” and her second novel “All About Mia”. She also shared anecdotes from her childhood and talked about the authors and books she enjoys.

The talk finished with a question and answer session with students asking a variety of questions including: “How did you get published?”, “What are your tips for overcoming writer’s block?”, “Where do you find your motivation?”, “Who encouraged you to be a writer?” and “What is your next book going to be about?”

It was a hugely beneficial experience for the girls to hear first-hand about the literary process and the stages a writer goes through to turn an initial idea into a finished novel.

After school Lisa then took part in a session with Year 12 and 13 Sociology and Psychology students where they considered transgender issues in more detail. Lisa talked about the research process she had undertaken when writing her novel and about some of the issues and situations faced by the people she had met. It was a fascinating insight into the challenges individuals can face just to be the person that they know they are.