The Blog
Read about Sonia and her mum’s hilarious antics, where she tells personal stories and highlights the issues of growing up with a mentally ill parent.
Fourteen Weddings and a Funeral
Driving through London's West End in a vintage double-decker bus is challenging at the best of times, let alone when there are protests and road closures everywhere. Thanks to my inherited bravery from my lovely mum we managed, but it was tight (and I don't just mean...
read moreIt’s a Jolly Holiday
The garden is quiet, the roads are clear, the neighbours are away and peace is here. Aaah bliss. I'm looking out at a rose that I planted in my mum's memory and wondering where this last year has gone. And now - popping into my head are memories of going on holiday...
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The Intros and Outros
"Kiss my children for me" - the last line of the letter my mother wrote to my step mum just after they'd swapped places in our family. On first reading it's heartbreaking as I cannot imagine what that must have felt like for her, let alone what it made her feel to...
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When new worlds collide
It is five months since my precious mum passed away and I realised this morning that there are so many life-changing things happening at the moment, some of which I've seen and some of which other people have helped me see. Although I think I've been seeing life with...
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Talkin’ ’bout my generation gap
I'm trying to get my head round the fact that my grandmother actually gave birth to me. If you're born with all your ovarian eggs then your mum will have developed hers in her own mother's womb. No surprise then that the resemblances between the generations of...
read moreLook write
Mum was always writing strange things in odd places as dementia kicked in. Her new coat had all the names of her carers written upside down on the front which puzzled me for a while until I realised she was writing the names so that she could see them while she...
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Tickets and Brick-its
Mum - "Hello Handsome Station Master, my precious angel just wants a breath of fresh air before getting back on the train." Me - (in my head) "No I don't". Then (smiling at station master to stop the inevitable Mum meltdown) "Just for a little while." Station Master...
read moreA mother brick in the wall
What does your name say about you? I've had the polite "could you spell that please?" and the insulting "Blimey - did you ever think of changing it?" Today I found the true meaning of "it's got your name on it" when I saw my mum's name on a brick in a wall. Not...
read moreTell your story!
My precious mum, Margaret Beldom, passed away peacefully on 12th November. She loved hearing all the stories that people shared about their own lives with people with mental health issues. A new conversation is starting, and it’s extraordinary. Please read “Surprise, surprise” and share some stories of your own.