Derry woman shares how doing jigsaws has helped her to 'feel alive' after getting sober

Monica got sober four years ago and found that doing jigsaws helped to keep her busy, get her out and about and open her mind up to healing from her past.

She said: "I am an alcoholic and four years ago I was in a pretty bad way. I was taken to Altnagelvin and was really on death’s door. My daughters asked about rehab and the hard working staff and nurses up there got me into Ramona House. That was the best move I ever made in my life.

"I went into rehab with my wee colouring book and stayed there for seven days until I was dry. I came home with a wee jigsaw and it took a couple of months to finish that first one. I started going to the charity shops and getting them there for about a year and a half and then suddenly I became the Jigsaw Lady and they started leaving the jigsaws out the back for me.

Monica makes the jigsaws at her kitchen table and, when she was re-learning how to walk after getting sober, she would separate the pieces into different boxes and place the boxes in different spots in her home so she would have to walk to get them. This grew her strength, balance and confidence in her walking and means she no longer uses a walking frame.

"I’m someone who just goes out on my own" she said. “And I just do my own thing. Someone once told me I had a sad life because I was in here doing jigsaws but I just told them ‘it’s a Monica thing’. I went into Craic’s 9T and asked them for a jumper with ‘It’s a Monica thing’ on it. I have four now and I have three more on order so I’ll have one for every day of the week to remind people to just ask me things they want to know instead of judging me.. I won’t bite you, I’m very approachable and I’m an open book.”

“When I was drinking, I honestly thought the answer was at the bottom of the bottle but that’s never where the answers were. At the minute, my head is like a jigsaw. The pieces are coming back and I’m remembering things that happened when I was drunk. It feels as though something moves every now and again to let another piece in and I’ve started taking notes to piece it all together. I’m putting the pieces together again and my daughters are slowly reminding me too of all the things I did when I was drinking. We’re slowly building it up and some day we’re going to put the last piece of the puzzle in together. I’m starting to feel drunk Monica coming forward to meet me.”

Monica got the idea for framing her jigsaws after gifting one to her daughter, which encouraged her to go travelling. She set off to her friends in the charity shops, who now call her Monica and not Jigsaw Lady, to buy as many frames as she could.

Monica says the jigsaws have helped her feel like she is back to her old self: "I just feel so alive, I really do. I never thought that a jigsaw would bring me back.”

"I have so many ideas now to get the community spirit back and get people talking. I want to conduct a social experiment where I can get people to come to my picnic table outside and have a cup of tea and a chat. I want to bring things back to the way it was where people had the chance to talk about their woes and put the world to right over a cuppa."

Monica has managed to re-decorate her house since becoming sober and feels she has made a real change in her life. She is so proud of her five daughters who have been with her through it all.

"The girls haven’t failed me. They never left. They kept their distance at times and were always worried what would happen but they were always there for me and we are so close now. They all have great talents. When they were growing up, I was drunk, yes, but I always made sure they knew how important education was."

Monica is donating the funds to Foyle Hospice because her partner is now under their care. She says she is ‘exhausted’ after working so hard to get the jigsaws framed and ready as well as looking after her partner so she will be taking a break at the end of the week. Any jigsaws which haven’t been sold will be donated to Tiny Tots and the mother and toddler group so they can sell them for their own funds.

"I would like to honestly thank the Works in Richmond Centre and all the charity shops for letting me buy all their jigsaws and their frames. They’ve all been so good to me over the years.”

Anyone who would like to purchase one of Monica’s jigsaws can get in touch with Strathfoyle Community Association on Facebook.