Maree
“We live in a hurt and damaged world. We simply can’t allow setbacks, disappointments, hurt, anger and vengeance to rule our lives or make us bitter. If only we can turn the situation around and make something positive of it and learn from the experience. This way of thinking has kept me safe and alive at times when I believed it would be so much easier to succumb.”
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At eight months old I was placed in my first foster home. Custody was legally awarded to the Department of Child Welfare and I became a ward of the State. By this time each of my siblings had also become wards of the State, due to our parents’ neglect and incompetent guardianship.
At the age of two, I was settled into my fourth and final placement with a foster family in Sydney. Unfortunately, my placement with this ‘respectable’ Catholic couple and four of their natural children marked the beginning of the worst sixteen years of my life.
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The worst incident of workplace harassment I endured followed my return to work after a stint in hospital. I walked into the staff office, and those present deliberately looked the other way and left the room. I followed them into the next room and they repeated the behaviour. I told them that I was not contagious. Regardless of how they behaved, they couldn’t hurt me badly enough to make me give up. I had come this far. I had fought and I survived. I was determined and had the will to hang on.
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I don’t need the latest modern appliances, a rich bank account, a sports car, a fancy watch or a yacht. I have a life of my own, loving friends, a wonderful surrogate family who genuinely love me, and a therapist who taught me to believe in myself. I have amounted to a very competent and successful individual with self-respect, respect for others, a generous disposition, inner peace and a purpose in life.
Being human can sometimes necessitate being courageous. Nothing can stand in your way if don’t let it.
Sonya Melbourne
A current member of the Australian Society of Authors and SCBWI, Sonya is a serious and committed author, who treats writing as a business as well as a passion.
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Her mother’s comment that her life was ‘filled with joy’ was what inspired author Sonya Melbourne to write a book about a lifelong struggle her mother has fought with mental illness.
Inspired Recovery will be a compilation of true stories from those diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, who have achieved happiness and success in their lives. In short, Inspired is about the triumph of the human spirit.
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