Hear Me Out
Page 20
14. Pushing myself and my body on BBC show Tumble.
15. When I did the skiing show, The Jump, I threw myself into it like a bull in a china shop.
16. Coming from a pop background, I had no idea how hard the life of a touring musical theatre actor was. The whole process was a massive eye-opener.
17. Celebrity Big Brother: I’d gone into the house wanting people to see me for me. The funniest part about it was that I won. I won the damn thing! Maybe people had seen something else in me after all; I don’t know.
18. Me in St Trinian’s 2, my favourite of all the acting parts I did. During the filming, I was always being told I had to play it down and not get too excitable.
19. I’ve written a lot of stuff over the years, with various great writters. I even wrote songs for a solo project. However, that was right before I decided to take myself off to rehab, so I had to put my solo project on ice.
20. As far as recognition goes, one of the highlights of being in Girls Aloud was in 2009, when we won a BRIT award.
21. Music, friends and family have kept me going while undergoing treatment. Right now, I’m trying to find joy whenever and however I can.
JANUARY 11TH 2021
At the start of 2021, we’ve all found ourselves in another national lockdown. It’s not the best start to a new year, but this time, thankfully, there are now vaccines available. While that gives us all a bit of hope, we all know it’s going to take a while before everything gets back to normal, especially as far as health services go. I know there are going to be women, just like me, who find themselves lost in the pandemic, and perhaps not getting checked out when they feel like there’s something not right. Worrying about getting appointments or visiting hospitals, or simply pushing other health issues to one side. All I can say is, please, girls – please, everyone – don’t let anything get in your way – get checked out if you’re worried about something. Of course, I can’t know for sure, but I believe that if I’d got things moving with appointments and check-ups faster than I did, I’d probably be in a better place than I am now. I think I would have had more options for treatment, and certainly less spread of disease. It’s a bloody hard pill to swallow, but the best I can hope for is that my experience might encourage other people to get themselves sorted as soon as possible.
Before I finally put this book to bed, I wanted to share a little bit of positive news. MRI scans at the end of December revealed that the tumours in my brain and in my lung have shrunk a bit with the treatment. I don’t know exactly what that means for me, but at least I know it’s moving in the right direction, and right now, every little victory feels momentous. With this news under my belt, I was able to enjoy a relaxing quiet Christmas with Mum, and yes, I got plenty of lovely Christmas pressies. At the moment, I’m just grateful to wake up every day and live my best life, because now I know just how precious it is.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To my best friends Anna, Fran, Jodie, Mel and Mousey, I couldn’t have survived this last year without your ongoing love and support. Thank you all a million times over – I love you.
With special thanks to Sara Cywinski, Tricia Grout, Peter Loraine, Terry Ronald and Simon Jones.
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
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First published by Ebury Press in 2021
Copyright © Sarah Harding 2021
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Cover design © The Brewster Project
Photos © Ruth Rose
ISBN: 978-1-473-59335-0
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