Lucy Beresford is a writer, broadcaster and practising psychotherapist. She hosts a two-hour show on LBC Radio and she's the Agony Aunt for the women’s glossy Healthy.
Lucy has travelled widely not only in India but also South Africa, Zimbabwe, Peru, North Korea, Indonesia and, most recently, Malaysia.
She writes about everything from food, sex and celebrity to literature and restaurants, as well as relationships and social media for press including Evening Standard, Daily Mail, Independent, Spectator, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Women’s Weekly and The Times, and the Calcutta Telegraph and Straits Times in Asia. She also appears regularly on Channel 4 News, ITV’s Good Morning Britain, BBC2’s Daily Politics, BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and reviews the papers on Sky News. She is currently in discussion with production companies to make a TV documentary about India, women’s rights and the life of women.
Lucy’s previous books include Happy Relationships: At Home, Work & Play and the novel, Something I’m Not.
Lucy’s latest book is called “Invisible Threads” and she talked about it at Asia House recently, when the IJA was invited. It will be published soon in India by Fingerprint, an imprint of Prakash books.
The plot tells how Sara, a therapist, always thought her husband Mike died in Afghanistan – but when she learns he was actually killed in India, her desire to uncover the truth leads her to a clinic in New Delhi.
Once in India Sara is dazzled by the country’s culture and its people. At the clinic, she grows close both to her patient Pritti and a bewitching, low-caste driver named Hemant. Yet Sara finds herself increasingly appalled at the treatment of women; in this country of old traditions and new opportunities, so much remains shocking or forbidden, like the practice of ‘Devadasi’ – prostitutes who work at temples.
As Sara inches towards the truth about Mike’s death and their marriage, and becomes entangled in the dark side of Delhi, she is thrust into the terrifying reality of an India few Westerners ever see.
Lucy told the Asian Voice how she fell in love with India through many visits as a high- flying investment banker. India has enriched her, she says.
“I first went to India in 1994. My eyes were opened. India opened my world, making me less self-centred. I was shown a world that I didn’t know existed.
For instance, once in Udaipur, I was taken to weaving companies where women sat working away for hours. I went back to India quite deliberately to see if I could help other people. I learned a lot from talking to people in a slum cluster. The novel is about a two-way influence, how a broken, grieving woman goes to India but learns a lot. I was positively influenced by India.”
Lucy’s visits to the slum clusters of Delhi happened through her colleagues at the Delhi Psychiatry Clinic.
At the slum clusters, women who are in or who have been in tough personal situations are helped through interactive support and counselling to gain confidence and self-belief.
They are being taught skills like hair dressing and tea-making that can help them earn money, and Lucy found that their confidence improved as a result.
Some of her communication, especially with non-English speakers, was non-verbal, Lucy says.
“Perhaps the overall mood was heaviness and sadness, but I also saw a lot of joy and empowerment. For instance, there was a moment where I suspected a slum resident had had issues with male violence at home. We had a wonderful male translator, but she was tense. The minute I asked him to step out of the room, she relaxed and held my hands. Her eyes were rimmed with tears. It was a powerful connection.”
Lucy adds; “Invisible Threads is my Love Letter to India. It’s a beautiful land of extreme contrasts, which makes me feel energized. And I wanted to tell the story of women who currently in India have no voice.”
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“Invisible Threads is my Love Letter to India. It’s a beautiful land of extreme contrasts, which makes me feel energized.” Lucy Beresford.
