Gina's first novel, Joseph's Ladder, is a true story and portrays one woman's battle to retain her own identity while coping with her son's serious mental decline.

Gina manages effectively to convey to the reader the complexity of dealing with both practical and emotional issues, frustration, anger and guilt which threatens her marriage and changes family life forever.

Lily is presented as a woman who has reached that stage of life when her children are growing up and she is beginning to find herself and pursue her own career as an artist.

Interwoven in the story are some lovely pieces of humour found in both her studies with younger students and ironically in the psychiatric unit. Lily undertakes a trip to Bulgaria which is fraught with danger.

'Joseph's Ladder' is compelling and hard to put down. It covers many aspects both exciting and tragic, taking the reader into the mind of an artist, a journey to a squat in Manchester and a battle with the authorities.