Peruvian aid work led to GP Pam Cairns’ first novel

An Angus author has launched her debut novel, inspired by the aid work she carried out in the Amazon jungle.

GP Pam Cairns gave up her job practising in Kirkcaldy in 2004 to deliver primary medical care to in some of the poorest parts of Peru on behalf of charity the Vine Trust.

She was so affected by the poverty she saw particularly the plight of the street children that she was inspired to pen The Dead Don’t Hurt Us.

The story is aimed at children aged 10 and over and follows two British children, Katie and Tim, who become lost in the Amazon after an aircraft accident and gradually become acquainted with street children.

At the book’s Forfar launch, Pam said, “The book is a work of fiction because I want children to understand what street children go through and the poverty they face.

“That’s why I decided that the main characters should be British kids.”