Brownstone Art Gallery in Modbury was fit to burst on Friday 14 November as friends, former customers, neighbours and curious locals pressed shoulder-to-shoulder to celebrate the launch of The Art of Becoming, the debut memoir from artist and former restaurateur Annabelle Gregory.

Despite heavy rain and competing events in the town, people gathered early — so many that the windows steamed over and staff rushed to fetch more wine. For Gregory, it was “a wonderful surprise”.

“We were standing there at half past five thinking no one was coming,” she said. “And then suddenly the whole place was full. I couldn’t move at one point. It was overwhelming in the nicest way.”

She sold a large number of books on the night, along with several original paintings. But what mattered most, she said, was the support. “I saw people I hadn’t seen in years. It was a joy.”

Her son, grandson and sister also attended the event. Her son said he was “very proud” of all his mother had achieved, particularly given the challenges she has faced.

The memoir is dedicated to her three children, including her daughter Sacha, who died young from a brain tumour. “She was my best friend,” Gregory said. “She always encouraged me.”

Proceeds from the book will go to Brain Tumour Research, a tribute to Sacha and a cause Gregory feels strongly about. “I didn’t write it for the money,” she said. “But it’s important to me that something good comes out of [Sacha’s death].”

For Gregory, raising money is a way of honouring Sacha’s memory and contributing to research she feels is urgently needed.

Her publicist, Jonathan Posner from Winter & Drew Publishing, spoke warmly about the project, calling Gregory’s life story “one that deserves to be heard”. Known for being selective about which books he takes on, he said he had greatly enjoyed working with her.

Gregory credits him with helping to shape the finished memoir, drawing on more than 60 hours of recorded conversation and extensive research.

The creation of the book began during a quieter chapter of Gregory’s life. After her husband died, she found herself living alone for the first time in decades.

“When you write a book, you get into areas you didn’t expect,” she said. “Doors that had been shut for years.”

The resulting volume is as vivid as her artwork — heavy, glossy, filled with photographs, and packed with the twists of a life lived at full tilt: modelling, running a West End restaurant, antiques dealing, brushes with the rich and famous, and building a much-loved bistro in Modbury.

Readers devoured it; some, she said, read it in two nights straight.

In the weeks since the launch, more readers have come forward to buy copies from the gallery. “I’m really pleased with how it’s gone,” Gregory said.

After taking a short break to recover from the excitement, Gregory is already turning to her next project: a children’s book about a robin, written and illustrated by herself. “Very simple, for very young children,” she said. “That’s what I’m doing next.”

The Art of Becoming is available at Brownstone Art Gallery in Modbury and on Amazon. Proceeds support Brain Tumour Research.