A Christmas Reflection

If you read my Christmas Snippets post, you’ll be aware that I suffered a psychotic episode in 2019. This was followed by a long period of anxiety and depression. In 2020, my mind couldn’t take any more. It shut down, and I left my family home. My boys were just four and seven. Things came to a head at the start of 2022, when I hit rock bottom. After I was discharged from hospital, I returned home. And with the love and support of my family, I found myself again.

2019

A year of scars

A year of grief

A year of wondering

If I’ll ever be me

 

A year of hurt

A world of pain

A time of struggle

No hope of gain

 

2020

A year of escape

A time to avoid

Thoughts of suffering

The endless void

 

A year of blankness

An empty home

No fear of reality

I’m all alone

 

2021

A year of confusion

I’m here then I’m not

The pain flared

Then I forgot

 

A year of fantasy

Don’t face the truth

Time to unsee

The heart-breaking proof

 

2022

It starts with an ending

An attempt, at least

Tormented by life

Desperate for release

 

Then a year of love

A year to recover

A regaining of hope

A goal to discover

 

2023

A year to dream

Of words on the page

Of realisation

It was just a stage

 

And stages pass

The good, the bad

Time to move on

To be thankful, to be glad

 

2024

A year of change

A new direction

Life goes on

A Christmas reflection

 

 

 

 

 

Tree decorated with my boys, aged 8 and 11, December 2024.

 

Stakes

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Working with a Literary Agent

The Querying, the Phone Call and the Edits

The Power of Questions

The Long, Medium and Short of It

Character

Wants, Needs and Imperfections

Plotting

What I've Learned

Research

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