L.S. Harvey - her pen name - was diagnosed with a white blood cell cancer called Hodgkin's lymphoma just before her 25th birthday.
During the two years of treatment and recovery which followed, the now 27-year-old started writing The Scaena Show - a dark thriller novel about a fashion store which skins its customers. The book was published in October last year and has since been featured in Heat and Bella magazines. L.
S. Harvey started writing the book while undergoing treatment for cancer (Image: L.S.
Harvey) Ms Harvey, who teaches English at Marshalls Park Academy, told the Recorder how writing helped her to "hold on to" her identity after the "catastrophe" of a cancer diagnosis. "When anyone is going through that sort of catastrophe, especially at such a young age, there becomes this loss of identity. "It's really hard to hold on to who you are because your appearance changes - I lost my hair, my weight changed quite drastically.
"Having something like my writing to hold on to, which was always a core part of my identity, was really important to me. "It was a tangible part of my personality which kept me grounded." READ MORE: Harold Hill youth club shut by Havering Council pushes to reopen Appearance and body image are among the themes she explores in her "dark glamour" book, which she explains was partly inspired by her experience of working in a "toxic" retail environment when she was younger.
The book explores themes of power, oppression and appearance (Image: L.S. Harv.
