Hannah publishes fourth book, taking inspiration from the friendships she made at LHS

Hannah Doyle (LHS 2002) is a bestselling author and her fourth book, The Pick Up, came out on 9 May. She writes fresh, funny novels about love and the power of female friendship. Hannah attributes her ability to write such stories back to the friends she made in 1995 when she started at the High School.

Hannah looks back on the friendships she made at LHS.

From Pot Noodles in the common room (as a snack – we were animals) and intriguing casting choices in the Tableaux to Spanish class avoidance tactics and mutual rolling up of the dreaded school skirt, my friends and I have so many memories from our time at Loughborough High School.

Best of all is that we still get to share those memories together.

It struck me recently, when a group of us gathered for a weekend in Norfolk to celebrate my fortieth birthday, that a large slice of my nearest and dearest date all the way back to 1995 (some even earlier) when I started at the High.

That’s nearly 30 years of friendship for Em, Debs, Ray and I and I feel incredibly lucky to have such wonderful women in my world to this day.

Life may have taken us off in different directions – I am forever furious that we no longer live in the same place – but we’re always checking in on the group chat and when we do get together, it’s the best. Reminiscing to the soundtrack of some tinny 00s beats and making new memories, too.

As we stood on the pebble beach at Salthouse that birthday weekend, watching our children and partners flying kites and spotting seals together, my heart felt very full indeed.

I couldn’t write books about the joys of friendship without having some absolute legends in my own life so I am very grateful to Em, Debs and Ray, not to mention Loughborough High for sending them my way.

Hannah Doyle’s latest romcom, The Pick Up, is published through HQ Digital and available on kindle or paperback now.