I’ve done it. My book about growing up as the well sibling of a high needs child is completed. Well, not really. It’s in the hands of beta readers and even as I await their feedback, I’ve already got ideas on how to improve sections of the book. So, I’ll have a few more rounds of revision this year, that’s for sure! But it’s okay. I’d rather have something I feel is the best that I can create that connects with my readers than rush to publish something.
It’s been quite the journey, this book. What originally started out as an idea for a play— Adrian Pang, Artistic Director of Pangdemonium, one of the top theatre companies in Singapore was the first to put the thought into my head—evolved into a blog (this one), finally ending up as a novel.
My impending 5-0 was the impetus for hunkering down to write my memoir, I focused all my efforts on it in 2023, thinking I could publish in 2024, when I turned 50.
Well, I completed the first draft by the end of 2023, but if you’ve read my previous posts, many big things happened in 2024; my health emergency in January, my mother’s heart attack and four-month stay in the hospital following her bypass surgery that pretty much took up my August to November, and my estranged father passing away in November, as well.
Let’s just say I had a lot to deal with. Despite the boulders thrown my way, I managed to continue working on my book, had many awesome overseas trips, and received my WSET Level 2 Wine Certification! (That was smack in the middle of my mother’s horribly complicated stay in the hospital, I think the studying was a great distraction).
Shining the Spotlight on the Invisible Sibling/Glass Child.
Now that the book is with the beta readers, I’m taking this time to continue my advocacy efforts—meeting with mental health organisations to see how I can shine the spotlight on the unseen Glass Child/Invisible Sibling/Well Sibling (however we want to call it) our fears, concerns, needs and how we must be considered early on to reduce the chances of more depressed and anxious people needing to seek help.
After all, mental illness in the family is considered an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), and many well siblings are emotionally neglected which is also considered an ACE by the World Health Organisation. And research has shown the increased risks of developing mental health issues (Anxiety, Depression, Addiction etc) among this group.
In economic-speak, all the productivity losses, governments needing to spend more money to treat issues that could have been nipped earlier in the bud…why get to that stage if we can help the well child from the start? Plus, the sibling is a great potential source of support, so help us to help our sibling too, right?
So, expect more Glass Child related content coming your way in this blog and I’ll aim to update my socials with any related content I find interesting from around the world. Whether it’s other Sibs sharing their stories, support articles, events and so on. If you haven’t yet, do follow my pages on Facebook and Instagram to be updated on this topic. And if you’ve got anything to share, please comment below or ping me via the contact form, I’d be happy to share that, too!
But first, what is a Glass Child? Why has this term been trending? What does it have to do with being an Invisible Sibling? Well, I’m starting off the series with an explanation about that in this next post, so check it out!
