Margaret Kirk once wrote a murder mystery play while she was still at primary school – and persuaded her classmates to act in it.
Yet, although she has immersed herself in fiction writing and will unveil her new novel What Lies Buried next month, she has never shirked from tackling the stigma of mental health issues, both on and off the page.
She worked for Birchwood Highland at their recovery centre in Inverness for eight years, prior to becoming a full-time author. And, having created detective novels, which have gained fulsome praise from the likes of Val McDermid, Ms Kirk has recently taken up an ambassadorial role with Birchwood to highlight the work being done to eradicate “outdated” perceptions of those with mental health problems.
She said: “During my time at the centre, I saw first-hand the challenges that people who live with mental ill-health face in their daily life, and it was impossible not to be moved by some of their stories.
“The centre’s ethos of openness and inclusivity meant that I interacted with the people who used our services on a daily basis, as did all the staff.
“Many training events and workshops were attended by staff and service users and the intention was always to focus on seeing past the diagnosis and trying to connect with the human being behind it.
“There are a few people whose stories touched me greatly. And my contact with their families in particular helped me understand how mental ill-health affects not just the individual themselves, but their friends and families as well.
“In my DI Lukas Mahler novels, Lukas’s mother, Grace, lives with mental ill-health. I wanted to show she is a person in her own right and not defined by her condition.
“I try to show her setbacks, but also her successes. And above all, her courage.”
