My parents and brothers

My four children and their partners, and my grandchildren

My partner

The injury and subsequent death of my eldest brother

There are numerous books, but here are three that stand out for me:

War and Peace by Nikolai Tolstoy, because it was the first adult book which took me so completely into a different world that what I was reading seemed as significant as my real life.

The German Lesson by Siegfried Lenz, because it evokes an amazing land and waterscape against which the narrator tells his fascinating story.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel, because it is clever, provocative, funny and engaging.