Bernadette McBride was on the child protection register for over a decade and in and out of care on an often-weekly basis. Her mother was suffering from chronic alcohol addiction and some days Bernadette would simply be left waiting at the school gates. She is a writer, creative practitioner & social advocate. She is the author of Roots - a self help journal, and has had various short fiction published from a collection she is currently working on. Bernadette is a Manchester Fiction Prize 2020 finalist, and won the award for Biggest Impact on the City of Liverpool award in 2019. She a PhD researcher in Creative Writing at the University of Liverpool. As a care-experienced writer she believes that often she is able to evoke subtle changes in internal and external environments on the page, and this is her superpower.