LIFE has dealt Marianne Gibson a difficult hand.

Ever since she can remember, Marianne, 45, has been searching for that lucky break.

She's fled violent lovers, struggled to bring up five kids on her own and seen job hopes crumble because she finds reading and writing difficult.

If that wasn't enough, Marianne's daughter was knocked down and brain damaged aged 15 and now her grandson is battling a brain tumour.

Reading, for obvious reasons, hasn't been very high on Marianne's priority list.

But all that changed earlier this summer when she got involved with a reading group at her three-year-old daughter's nursery in Park Hill, Sheffield.

Marianne had taken part in several workshops and courses at Grace Owen Nursery at the heart of the cavernous flats complex, now largely empty and awaiting redevelopment.

Learning about parenting and polishing up her English gave her much needed confidence and when staff member Mandy Foster suggested a six-book reading challenge, Marianne jumped at the chance.

"My parents couldn't really be bothered because there were eight of us," explains Marianne, recalling a woeful childhood.

"I used to wag school and when I was there no-one even noticed me. I left school having never read a book.

"My first job was making zips so I didn't need to read or write. I always wanted to be a policewoman but that was never going to happen because of my reading.

"I trained as a mechanic a few years ago and passed the practical but I couldn't do the written test and it crushed my confidence so I never took it up as a career. I've worked plenty but never in an office. It's always been manual work.

"I've struggled to read bills and got into debt and I just guess what words mean. You find ways of coping when you can't read well. You learn how to hide it."

If Marianne found work difficult, she's found motherhood even more of a challenge.

"I feel like I've failed my older kids," sighs Marianne, who admits her three-year-old has given her another lease of life.

"I was brought up to be seen and not heard and I brought my kids up in a similar way. I didn't encourage them to have opinions.

"I know a lot more now and I've learned so much from coming to this nursery. I'm determined to do things differently with Hope Mia.

"I really enjoy reading to her and we sit down at bedtime with hot chocolate and a book and it's lovely."

Marianne's reading, writing and self confidence has come on leaps and bounds.

"My life's been tough, there's no denying it," adds Marianne, who lives on nearby City Road.

"After my daughter was knocked down she was in a coma for three weeks. She came out of it a different person. She didn't recognise me or anyone else in the family and then she ran away aged 16.

"I suffered from depression for a long time and wouldn't go out or answer the phone.

"Just last week my grandson was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
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