SPOTLIGHT ON COACHING: 'Thursday's Child': Jennie McCall's Extraordinary Personal Project

A page from Jennie McCall's autobiographical project 'Thursday's Child'

For the last few years I have had the extraordinary privilege of working on a very personal project conceived by artist and sculptor, Jennie McCall. In the early months of 2025, it reached its zenith with the completion of a book – perhaps more correctly an ‘autobiographical portfolio’ – entitled Thursday’s Child.

Thursday’s Child, in words, illustration and snippets taken from the many journals and portfolios Jennie has produced and treasured over the years, details her early life in Galashiels, Scotland and the many trials experienced by her, her siblings and her late mother. It is not an easy read, some of the tales Jennie tells are tough and uncompromising, but the book is ultimately about redemption. From the ashes of a difficult childhood rose an extraordinary artist, for whom integrity and honesty are everything.

To encounter Jennie’s work is to meet a world of deep emotional contemplation and inner peace. Her sculptures, regularly featured in the exhibitions of The Society of Women Artists in the Mall Galleries, are always a highlight. They exude a quiet confidence, they hold their space, they are at one with themselves.

Jennie is in discussions with a publisher, and exhibitions dedicated to her piece are in the diary. Having recorded her own personal journey, her resulting project is charting a life and a journey of its own.

Although set in the past, Thursday’s Child is categorically about keeping faith in oneself and in the future. To have shared Jennie’s unique journey as her coach, and the editor of her beautiful text, has been nothing short of an honour.

Jennie’s work can be seen here.

Dan Goode and Jennie McCall