Summary

“Mrs Vadnie Marlene Sevlon” by Jackie Kay tells the story of Vadnie Marlene Sevlon, a middle-aged woman from Jamaica who has been living in the UK for 20 years. Until today, she has been working in Sunnyside Home for the Elderly in north-west London. On the way home, she reflects on her life, on her parents, and on her life choices. She stops by Willesden Lane Cemetery, a place she likes to visit regularly and contemplate death.

Vadnie recalls how she first invented a husband when she was 20 years old. She named him Preston and imagined he was an electrician. Whenever she got the chance, she would talk about him and their three daughters to colleagues and strangers.

Vadnie reflects on her dislike for the two women who run Sunnyside who, according...