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Some Thoughts on Suicide and Death and Grief

Some Thoughts on Suicide and Death and Grief

by Louise Allan | May 19, 2021 | DIARY, FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR

With that heading, this post probably doesn’t require a CW, but if you’re not in a place to read about this topic right now, close the tab and don’t scroll down. This post hasn’t captured everything I want to say, perhaps because it’s too...
A Letter to My 12-year-old Self and Having the Freedom to Imagine

A Letter to My 12-year-old Self and Having the Freedom to Imagine

by Louise Allan | Oct 7, 2016 | CHILDHOOD ABUSE & TRAUMA, FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR

This is a quick post to let everyone know where I’ve been writing this week: Jenn J McLeod invited me to be part of her series, ‘A Letter to My Younger Self’, so I wrote to my twelve-year-old self and, as it turned out,...
Thinking Out Loud: On Assessing Kids

Thinking Out Loud: On Assessing Kids

by Louise Allan | Sep 17, 2016 | FAMILY AND PARENTING

At the end of each year, I pack away my kids’ school work into boxes. It takes me hours to sift through, mainly because there’s so much that catches my eye and I can’t help but read it. I’m always...
Some Thoughts on Death and Dying

Some Thoughts on Death and Dying

by Louise Allan | Sep 10, 2016 | FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR, PHOTOGRAPHY

There’s been a bit of an existential theme happening with my kids lately, and they’ve wanted to talk about death and dying and the universe. My older son wrote a poem about a child’s funeral. He came up and read it to me and,...
When You Don’t Want Your Kids To Make the Same Mistakes As You

When You Don’t Want Your Kids To Make the Same Mistakes As You

by Louise Allan | Jun 13, 2016 | FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR, PHOTOGRAPHY

Last week, I wrote about how I’d found it hard to let go of my children at puberty—the age when they started wanting autonomy over their lives. Although I spent a long time writing that post, I felt as if I’d barely skimmed the surface....
Negotiating Puberty—Parenting Reflection #3

Negotiating Puberty—Parenting Reflection #3

by Louise Allan | Jun 1, 2016 | CHILDHOOD ABUSE & TRAUMA, FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR, PHOTOGRAPHY

When I was growing up, I found puberty difficult. I wasn’t keen on the physical changes—I quite liked having a flat chest, hair that didn’t get oily, and armpits that were hairless and didn’t sweat. As a child, I hadn’t felt particularly...
Talking to Teenagers: How I Turned My Relationship With My Daughter Around: Parenting Reflection #2

Talking to Teenagers: How I Turned My Relationship With My Daughter Around: Parenting Reflection #2

by Louise Allan | Jan 26, 2016 | CHILDHOOD ABUSE & TRAUMA, FAMILY AND PARENTING, FAVOURITE, MEMOIR, WRITING

In a blog post last year, I said I’d write a post about my second daughter and how, through her, I learnt to be a better mother. That was easier said than done, believe me. Once kids reach a certain age, it’s difficult to write about them...
On Not Shaming Kids: Parenting Reflection #1

On Not Shaming Kids: Parenting Reflection #1

by Louise Allan | Jan 19, 2016 | CHILDHOOD ABUSE & TRAUMA, FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR

This isn’t the post I intended for this week, but the original one has turned into an unwieldy epic and I’m still working on it. Our second daughter finished school last year and will turn eighteen next month. This means both of...
What Not to Say to Young Women

What Not to Say to Young Women

by Louise Allan | Sep 23, 2015 | FAMILY AND PARENTING, FAVOURITE, WRITING

Last week, our seventeen-year-old daughter sang at an Eisteddfod. She’s in Year Twelve and hopes to pursue classical singing after school. She always takes care with how she presents herself for a performance, and for this item,...
Rewriting Mothers’ Day

Rewriting Mothers’ Day

by Louise Allan | May 15, 2015 | CHILDHOOD ABUSE & TRAUMA, FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR

  I wrote and published Monday’s Mothers’ Day post  in record time—it was done and dusted in under thirty minutes. I wrote the thoughts as they came and published it with little editing. I knew it was raw, but I knew if I thought about it too long, I...
(Un)Happy Mothers’ Day

(Un)Happy Mothers’ Day

by Louise Allan | May 11, 2015 | CHILDHOOD ABUSE & TRAUMA, FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR, WRITING

What do you do when you dread ‘Mothers’ Day’ coming around each year? When those words cause your insides to shrivel because all they do is remind you of the Mothers’ Days of your childhood, when you hid in your bedroom, while your mother stood...
Making Medical Mistakes — a Letter to My Daughter

Making Medical Mistakes — a Letter to My Daughter

by Louise Allan | Apr 2, 2015 | FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEDICINE, WRITING

This ‘Letter to My Daughter’ first appeared in a recent issue of a medical journal. My daughter had just finished first year Medicine, so I wrote to her telling her about one of the pitfalls of being a doctor—making mistakes....
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