The Clod Redux

The book is in two parts, commencing with an account of Luke’s work as a Mental Health Nurse working in hospital wards in England during the 1970’s, followed by a moving account of the relationship between Luke and Zahra and their struggles to be together in Part 2 of the book.

Luke and co-worker, Zahra, a recent student nurse recruit to his acute mental health admission ward, experience a strong attraction and a deep bond develops between them. However...there's a problem. Zahra is a Pakistani Muslim and this is 1970’s England.

During a short holiday in Karachi, Pakistan to her childhood home, Zahra is stopped by her family from returning to the UK. However, Luke is determined not to be separated from her. Neither Zahra, nor Luke knows what fate has in store for them. In an epic struggle between unbreakable bonds of love and heartache, family honour and pride and on the backdrop of unthinkable tragedy, Zahra and Luke attempt to defy all the odds in their quest to be reunited.

This is a true account of the trials and tribulations of their love story and is given colour and context by Luke’s insightful and at times, humorous recollections of his work as a Registered Mental Health Nurse.

Both strands of this account offer a timely insight into the sometimes fractured nature of the cultural divisions that existed between East and West, as well as a clear-eyed view of the challenging nature of Mental Health care during that period.

Both parts of the book offer the reader an historical account and a reflective eye from the past on issues of great interest, relevance and importance to those people experiencing similar issues today.