Cornwall-based author Gillian Silverthorn’s deeply personal and courageous memoir, “Who We Choose to Be,” is receiving high praise and recognition from literary awards committees. The book has recently been awarded both the Literary Titan Book Award and The Love Reading Book Award, with reviewers commending its emotional honesty, reflective storytelling, and powerful exploration of sobriety, grief, family, and self-discovery.
In “Who We Choose to Be,” Silverthorn takes readers on a poignant journey from her childhood and teenage years to the harsh realities of adulthood. She candidly shares her experiences of how the wonder and magic of youth can fade in the face of loss, duty, disillusionment, and the struggle for emotional survival. The memoir also delves into her personal battle with alcohol dependency, starting as a confidence booster and social comfort before gradually becoming a coping mechanism and a daily struggle.
Reviews of the book have praised Silverthorn’s open-hearted and sincere writing style, noting her ability to capture the complexities of life through intimate details and emotional truth. The memoir has been described as a compelling reflection on love, grief, aging, family obligation, and the hard-won clarity that comes with choosing sobriety at the age of sixty.
“Who We Choose to Be” offers an honest and raw account of Silverthorn’s journey towards embracing sobriety and living life to the fullest. Rather than presenting recovery as a simple transformation, the book portrays it as a challenging process of re-entering a world of emotions, marked by courage, discomfort, healing, and renewed self-respect.
Through her memoir, Silverthorn invites readers to reflect on their own lives and the paths they have taken. Her honest and vulnerable storytelling reminds us that every life is filled with moments that force us to decide who we want to become.
As Silverthorn shares, “If I could tell my younger self anything, it would be to not pick up that first drink, to be yourself, and not always try to be strong. It’s okay to be hurt, angry, and to grieve. You don’t need to hide those feelings because they will eventually need to be addressed. Since becoming sober, I have had to face the emotions that I had numbed and pushed down for years. The bonus is the improvement in my health, especially my mental wellbeing. It’s never too late to make a change.”
“Who We Choose to Be” is now available for purchase on Amazon. This award-winning memoir has been praised by reviewers as candid, searching, and full of hard-earned light, making it a must-read for anyone drawn to intimate life writing, stories of sobriety, complicated family relationships, grief, midlife reinvention, and the quiet courage it takes to choose peace over performance.
About the Author:
Gillian Silverthorn is the author of “Who We Choose to Be.” Originally from a small village in Hampshire, UK, she now resides in Sennen Cove, Cornwall, with her husband, Kevin. She has two grown children, Dominic and Emma, and a granddaughter, Mimi.
In addition to memoir writing, Silverthorn is also a prolific short story writer, with several of her works published online. When she is not writing, she enjoys both creative and physical pursuits, such as pottery-making, which is sold in a local shop and gallery in Penzance. She also recently completed a 230-kilometer self-sufficient footrace in Kenya to raise funds for the rangers who protect local wildlife.
For more information, visit her website at https://gilliansilverthorn.com/.
