Lisa’s a genuine Woman of Substance

Lisa Salmon

Novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford has named Rochdale-born Lisa Salmon as her real Woman of Substance.

Lisa, who writes a column for the Oldham Chronicle, Rochdale Online's sister company, was almost killed in a car crash eight years ago which left her virtually blind.

She suffered a second blow when her two-day-old son Connor died the following year, and an overseas break with her partner Mark to help them come to terms with the loss of their first child saw her in a Lanzarote hospital with a DVT — a potentially fatal blood clot in her leg.

Lisa, 42, also had rheumatoid arthritis as a toddler, which meant she sometimes had to use a wheelchair when walking was too painful, and her father died from a heart attack when she was 11.

Lisa refuses to waste time on self-pity, and considers herself lucky to have husband Mark Walker and two healthy sons, Joel, 5, and Christian, 3.

Originally from Rochdale, Lisa now lives with her family in Horsforth, Leeds, which is the city where Taylor Bradford grew up.

“I’m nothing special, I’ve just got on with it,” she said after being presented with the award which was launched to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the author’s debut novel “A Woman of Substance.”

Lisa’s prize includes lunch in New York with the author, a luxury cruise and a full makeover and styling session courtesy of Debenhams.