Kiwi author's struggle 'I had to stop telling people what was happening'

Queenstown writer catherine bennetto bottled through a broken shoulder, lockdowns, a hysterectomy and brain surgery to complete her latest novel

Writing a novel requires a great deal of tranquil time. Basically, life needs to be pretty boring. Back in 2018,

when Queenstown author Catherine Bennetto embarked on writing her third and latest novel, The Reason, little did she realise that things were going to be anything but dull.

Still, she pushed through some major health issues to produce her most heart-warming story yet.

A broken shoulder was her first hurdle. Catherine did it mountain biking and it left her unable to type for ages – or do much of anything.

“My husband was working overseas, so my kids had to help me get dressed every morning,” she tells. “My younger son did up my bra and the older one tied up my hair!”

The need for major brain surgery happened more recently, although Catherine, 44, had been having difficulties for a while. A tangle of blood vessels were pressing on her facial nerve and the first sign of a problem was a tiny eye twitch.

“Over the years, it got stronger and more noticeable,” she recalls. “Then I started going deaf in one ear and hearing a dull click at night. And there were headaches and pain.”

Finally, it got to the point where microvascular decompression surgery was necessary, which was a daunting prospect. “I had to stop telling people what was happening because when I did, their reactions were so dramatic, they would frighten me,” explains Catherine. “I went into this little world where I only talked to positive people. I called it my glittery bubble of protection.”