AN UNFORGETTABLE DAY
January 28 will forever be a memorable day in my life. It is the day my mother was born. And it is the day my father died.
January 28 will forever be a memorable day in my life. It is the day my mother was born. And it is the day my father died.
A story for those who are long-recovered or want to understand more about the origins of eating disorders. For family members of those suffering. For women who have ever been worried about their appearance and how they fit into society. The unpleasant sexual experiences almost universally experienced by women. And the ongoing impact of childhood emotional neglect by parents who hoped to do their best but severely lacked the skills to raise happy children.
I wrote a book. You’ve probably heard me banging on about it over the past few months. Years even. But now we’re at the pointy end of the process.
You know how bad news comes in runs of three? That’s my superstition at any rate… Well apparently good news can do the same thing.
If you’ve known me for more than about five minutes, then you probably know I’ve written a book. It’s been an intense labour of love and like most labours, there have been some painful moments.
Once upon a time, I bought a pair of shoes. I bought a pair of shoes at 3 AM and when they arrived, I didn’t remember buying them. At the time of this unfortunate shoe-purchasing incident, I’d been taking pramipexole for around 5 years. I’d had no side effects and had yet to experience any augmentation (that would come later).
One of the first, and most prolific, things I do when my restless legs are restless, is to stretch. I find stretching offers wonderful – albeit very short-lived – relief and is something I can do anywhere, anytime.
I’ve been absent. Absent from so many things in my life. One of the key components of my recovery has been writing. Since 2016 I’ve been writing up a storm. I couldn’t even hazard a guess at the number of words that have dribbled out of these fingers in the past five years. But let’s just say it includes 390 blog posts, 40 insomnia articles, an awful lot of journal entries and one whole book. Amongst other things.
Writing a book was a mighty endeavour – one I never really dreamed of but slowly as I wrote more and more, and was encouraged more and more, I started to think it was an achievable reality. And while I’m not yet holding a book in my hot little hands, I know I will be by the end of the year.
I found the most fabulous manuscript assessor for my book – the inimitable Julie Gray. She recently asked me to contribute a guest post on […]
I found the most fabulous manuscript assessor for my book – the inimitable Julie Gray. She recently asked me to contribute a […]
Having restless legs syndrome (RLS) is not fun. It is, in fact, a right royal pain in the proverbial. I have it, so I know. The creepy crawly, wriggly jiggly, itchy painful sensations can be there all day and all night long, causing significant disruption to quality of life.
Well it’s been a busy month or two – I think I can safely say that. Dad’s deteriorating health then his death. And organising the celebration of his life. All very time consuming and emotionally draining affairs. The decision to do a presales campaign for my book. Launching it, promoting it and tying up the loose ends. All very time consuming, exciting and nerve wracking.
When most people think of restless legs syndrome (RLS), they immediately assume it’s about having a sensation of restlessness in the legs. That is after all, what the syndrome is commonly called.
Everything in life is transitory – the good, the bad. The ugly, the beautiful. Nothing lasts and my father’s demise and death […]