A Conversation with Sarah Vaughan of Little Disasters
A Conversation with Sarah Vaughan Q: What inspired you to write about a medical ethical dilemma? A: I wanted to write another novel in which a professional woman has to make a tough call that will have a dramatic impact on others. Having created a female barrister in Anatomy of a Scandal , I decided to write about a female pediatrician whose judgment would have a profound effect on a child in her care. I was also inspired by my surgeon husband, who has come home from being on-call having had to make similar safeguarding decisions. The decision to refer a child to social services may seem quite straightforward but there’s always the awareness of how emotionally distressing and disruptive this will be for a family who could be entirely innocent. I imagined how much more difficult that might be if the professional knew the family involved. Q: What kind of research did you have to do in order to write from Liz’s perspective? A: Some of the day-to-day informa...