Ruth Nadine Picardie (1 May 1964 – 22 September 1997) was an English journalist and editor.

Life

Ruth Nadine Picardie was born on 1 May 1964 in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

, the daughter of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n émigrés. She studied

Social Anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

. She worked as an editor and journalist for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' newspapers in the UK. She also contributed to other publications, including the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

''. Her memoir of living with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

, '' Before I Say Goodbye'', was published posthumously, culled from five columns written for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''s magazine ''Life'', and from her personal correspondence. These were collected and edited by her husband Matt Seaton and her sister Justine Picardie. Picardie married Seaton in

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, in 1994. They had two children. Seaton was a keen competitive cyclist and is the author of ''The Escape Artist'', which concentrates on his love of amateur cycling but also chronicled his wife's breast cancer. Picardie died in Lambeth, London, aged 33. Her sister Justine, along with Beth Wagstaff (who soon afterward became another victim of the disease), established The Lavender Trust in her sister's memory. The Trust focuses on raising funds and support for younger women suffering from breast cancer. Picardie and Wagstaff's surgeon, Puvaneswary Markandoo, was subsequently found responsible for other misdiagnosis and negligence in surgical operations on women, and was removed from the medical register ('struck off') by the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

in December 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Picardie, Ruth 1964 births 1997 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Deaths from breast cancer in England English journalists English people of South African descent English women non-fiction writers People from Lambeth Writers from the London Borough of Lambeth Writers from Reading, Berkshire People from Worthing The Observer people 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers