Wairarapa children’s author Tania Atkinson has faced one of life’s toughest chapters – and turned it into an opportunity to help others.
Earlier this year, the veteran writer, best known for her rhyming picture books that weave in New Zealand’s history or folklore, was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. What first presented as “a little thing on the back of (her) leg” that friends told her looked like an insect bite or a blood blister turned out to be cancer.
“I didn’t like the look of it. It had what I’d describe as an unearthly look about it and it seems to be getting bigger, so I went to my GP up in Masterton … It probably saved my life that it was on my leg,” Tania says. “If it had been internal, it could have been months before I felt ill – and by then it might have been too far gone.”
Her treatment involved months of chemotherapy followed by 20 sessions of radiation. For that, Tania stayed at the Cancer Society’s Margaret Stewart House (MSH) in Wellington, which provides accommodation for patients undergoing treatment far from home.
“It was the most amazing place,” she says. “That’s why I’m particularly keen to try and raise money for it.”
The experience wasn’t without challenges. She said the first week to 10 days she felt lonely as most people had partners with them and many kept to their rooms. But kindness shone through. “A wonderful lady, whose son was extremely ill, made me dinner my first night – which I’ll remember always.” Over time, friendships formed, and Tania discovered a sense of solidarity among those who understood what she was going through.
“You do get the feeling that you’re part of rather exclusive club and the people who are there understand things that the people in ‘the real world’ don’t.”
Now, she’s giving back. Tania has just launched the fourth book in her popular series of rhymes based on local history. The Lost Star of Featherston is a charming tale about the imagined adventures of real-life astronomer Stephen Carkeek, building of the earliest private observatory in New Zealand. It is beautifully illustrated by Viv Walker, a Kapiti Coast based artist, designer and illustrator. Profits from this new release will go to Margaret Stewart House. Profits from this new release will go to Margaret Stewart House. Tania has already gifted a copy of the book to the MSH Library, the shelves of which the former secondary school English teacher and librarian enjoyed browsing while in residence.
Writing has been Tania’s lifelong passion. She has been making up rhymes and stories for kids since she was a kid herself. After emigrating with her family from Ireland in 1957, she began retelling Irish fairytales for radio, later joining the early days of New Zealand television and contract writing for TVNZ’s Play School in the 1980s.
She doesn’t just spin imaginative tales – she roots her stories in real history or cultural memory, such as John Joe’s Tunes, which tells the story of the creation of the tune for New Zealand’s national anthem or Over the Hill to Greytown, the tale of an early settler Sam Oates who sets off from Wellington with a gum tree in his wheelbarrow to plant it in the Wairarapa.
Her stories have delighted generations, and her latest work looks set to continue that tradition – with an added purpose of supporting others through their own cancer chapter.
The book was launched at Featherston’s Chicken and Frog Children’s Bookshop in November and is available now at bookstores throughout Greater Wellington and direct from the author by emailing tania.connelly@xtra.co.nz.
Support Margaret Stewart House
If you’d like to support Margaret Stewart House but aren’t purchasing a book, the Cancer Society Wellington is running its Christmas Appeal to help provide comfort and care for people undergoing cancer treatment. Donations fund accommodation at Margaret Stewart House, transport to treatment, and vital support services – and this year, will also help revamp the house’s outdoor garden space for guests. Every gift makes a real difference. Donate at Cancer.org.nz/Christmas or call 0800 467 345.