Marianne Gibson, mother of five from Sheffield
Having been dealt a difficult hand, Marianne has struggled to bring up five kids on her own. She left school having never read a book and reading had never been high on her priority list. Having lost opportunities of jobs due to not being able to read and write, Marianne has done several manual jobs but never based in an office. She struggled to read bills and had to find ways of coping and hiding the fact she couldn't understand the paperwork.
All this changed when Marianne started classes and got involved with a reading group at her daughters nursery in Sheffield. Classes to learn about parenting and to polish up her English skills gave her much needed confidence a boost. When a staff member suggested she take up the Six Book Challenge Marianne jumped at the chance.
Since then Marianne's reading and writing has come on leaps and bounds. Life is still hard but she wants to change things and feels that being able to read and write well is the first step. She now wants to study for a childcare qualification and a new career.
In the meantime she's determined to carry on reading and learning. She knows the next chapter will be equally hard but having come this far, she's determined to succeed.
