A fragile hold

<p>When Ruth Cotton walked out of her neurologist's office in 1997 with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis her life changed irrevocably. At the peak of her career and with three children still at home all she could think of were the uncertainties - especially whether she'd become wheelchair-bound. But Ruth continued her full active life and it wasn't until her retirement that multiple sclerosis exacted its greatest toll - slowly taking her balance and mobility. </p><p>In 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic confined Ruth indoors news came that her husband's cancer - melanoma diagnosed years before - was accelerating. Overwhelmed by a sense of life's fragility Ruth turned to writing to make sense of it all. As she gives close attention to her immediate environment a more mindful way of being and thinking unfolds. <em>A Fragile Hold</em> reveals with warmth and unflinching honesty the daily intimate scenes of a life with multiple sclerosis.</p>