Living with Difference

Date 26 July 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
Seen, Misjudged, Rarely Understood For most of my life, I lived in the dark. Not because I didn't know I was different, but because I didn't yet have the understanding to explain why life always felt harder than it seemed to be ...
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The Hidden Effects of Loss

Date 24 July 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
Some consequences aren't immediate, they're cumulative It's five months into four years through twin loss, and I've split another tooth. On its own, it's an ordinary event. But it's an event that made me stop and look back ...
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What Writing Taught Me About Self-Understanding

Date 19 July 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
How writing became more than a creative outlet When I started writing, I had no idea where it would lead. I simply needed somewhere to put my thoughts – a place to make sense of experiences I struggled to understand ...
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The Courage to Walk Your Own Path

Date 15 July 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
Finding peace through authenticity and self-trust. I have always walked my own path and that takes courage, especially in a world that constantly hands out rule books. Even as far back as a child I was never someone who ...
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Learning to Embrace My Uniqueness

Date 12 July 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
Different Doesn't Mean Less: Learning to Embrace My Uniqueness "I was born different. It's taken me time to come to terms with that. I'm still learning to embrace my uniqueness – and that's okay." Ilana Estelle Growing up, I often ...
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Finding My Place In My Own Story

Date 8 July 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
A personal reflection on identity, late diagnosis and belonging. Six decades is a long time to wait for your own life. I entered the world as a twin. Before we had names, we had roles. Four decades later, I discovered ...
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Growing Up Without Knowing

Date 4 July 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
Not rewriting my childhood. Finally understanding it. I still find it strikingly difficult to comprehend the life I've lived. Not because it was extraordinary, but because looking back so much of it was inaccessible to me, as though ...
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Understanding My Past

Date 1 July 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
The Life I Have Lived There are moments in life when you look backwards rather than forwards. With the life I've lived, I now find myself re-examining my childhood and adulthood through a different lens. For many years ...
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Losing Mum Changed How I Understood My Life

Date 26 June 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
Loss became the understanding of the life I had always lived A friend once said that sometimes we have to lose someone we love before we can see what was always there. I believe that is true. As hard as it was losing Mum ...
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The Greatest Barrier is Being Misunderstood

Date 20 June 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
Understanding Disability Begins When We Stop Making Assumptions For much of my life, I believed I was the one who needed to change. I have spent decades trying to meet expectations that were never designed ...
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Where Trauma Lives Now

Date 14 June 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
Loss exposes old wounds and can leave survival at the centre of daily life Only after losing my twin did I realise how much of my life had never needed explaining. We each carried our trauma separately and kept much of ...
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A Change in Perspective

Date 11 June 2026
Author Ilana Estelle
Changing the Lens: Reclaiming My Own Narrative It has taken me six decades to see myself more clearly, and I am still learning who I am. For years, I struggled with mental anguish and emotional turmoil simply to ...
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