Angela Chadwick: Ungrateful

Can you ever let go of your past? Cat knows she should be more grateful for her partner James. As a young woman struggling to care for her alcoholic mother, he whisked her away from her council estate home and offered her a taste of middle-class comfort. But twenty years later, the escape he offered has begun to feel stifling and Cat wishes she had made more of her life. She had a place to study at university after finishing sixth form, but her mother was too unwell for Cat to take it. Could she go back now? At a university open day, Cat finds herself standing before her boyfriend of teenage years, Daniel, now a lecturer. As the spark that drew them together returns, Cat hopes that he can in some way help her reconnect with the drive and optimism of her younger self. Or is she simply hurtling back towards a past that can only hurt her further? Will Cat stop hurting those she loves and let go of her demons to become the person she always hoped to be? Or is it too late?