A MUSSELBURGH author is celebrating the publication of her book based on her journey as an adoptive parent.

Writing under the pseudonym Nell Carpenter, some of her work on the book Someday This Could Be Ordinary... Our Adoption Journey was done while sitting at cafes in the town.

Its front cover was inspired by walks with her dog along Musselburgh beach.

The author said: “It’s so strange to think back to those times when it all started out as a self-reflection diary to support me to navigate through what was the hardest thing I had ever been through, and now it feels absolutely mad that I’ve published a book detailing that journey – not so much ordinary but feels extraordinary.”

Her early career working as a multi-systemic therapist led her to adopting her own children eight years later.

She said: “It’s autobiographical, based on my journey through the adoption process and being matched with my children and becoming a parent. I share the reality of the adoption process, including the highs and lows, the grim and the beautiful, and the magic of forming new attachments.

“I don’t glamourise the experience and I write about how tough it really was and how it has changed me as a person.”

The book, costing £8.99, can be purchased from Amazon, WHSmith, Waterstones, Blackwell or directly from Pegasus publishers, the publishing house which has produced the book, bookshop.org and Abebooks.