Living with cerebral palsy is enormously difficult. But what if you never knew you had it? This is ‘my story.’
Born the second of premature twins, from a young age I knew I was different, but for all the wrong reasons. A child of the 60s, I experienced first-hand the way that disability was so often brushed under the carpet and not spoken about. My constant physical and mental struggles made me feel isolated, alone, frustrated, and misunderstood… it took 46 years for me to find out why.
Part memoir, part motivational guide, Cerebral Palsy: A Story is my open and honest journey from an angry, confused child, knowing something was wrong, but not knowing what, to the ‘real’ me, using my experiences and lessons to create inspiring messages about mental and physical health, positivity, resilience and change.
Writing my book although cathartic, was difficult; not a decision taken lightly, but coming to a realisation that without writing about my disability, I would still not know about my disability today.
I needed to get past just knowing I had a bad leg and foot. I needed to know about my mental and emotional struggles, why I was failing and why I got to this place without knowing. I needed to bring my life together …
Read on »My book shows we can all change our lives that just because we start one way doesn’t mean we have to continue the same way. As I have changed my own life, my book shows you how you can change your life too.
The difference between change and non-change is us staying ‘present.’ For us to change and find peace in our lives, we must continue to live in the present, having dealt with the past, and then work and …
Read on »Given my life’s experiences and not knowing about my disability, my website and writing my book needed to happen. Where my website brings me peace and a sense of calm, my book gives me clarity around a disability I didn’t know I had.
Neither achievement was premeditated, as a child I never gave either a seconds thought. In fact I had no thoughts, aspirations or dreams as a child. I just knew about a bad leg and a bad foot and that I …
Read on »Being in lockdown, I have had an opportunity to work on my second book, whilst continuing to write and run my website The CP Diary.
My next book will be a follow on from my first book Cerebral Palsy: ‘A Story’ but this time it will chart my healing and spiritual journey. A journey that at times seemed daunting, sometimes out of reach …
Read on »Having had my book Cerebral Palsy, ‘A Story’ published in January 2020, and going into lockdown in March for four months, I wanted to do something to keep ‘my story’ in people’s minds through Covid times.
I would like to thank Natalie Connors and Ella Davidson from thebookpublicist, for their stalwart PR campaign. Over the last three months, with their help ‘My Story’ has appeared in Newspaper articles, including …
Read on »The more I have learned about my disability through my book, the more real it became, the more understanding of my disability I became. But how I got to this place so late, is something I will never understand.
Not to know who you are, or how and why you present the way you do, or what makes you the person you are with your difficulties is incomprehensible. We can tackle anything when we are informed …
Read on »When I started writing and putting my story together, ‘My Story’ wasn’t going to be about blame, a kiss and tell story, what he said, what she said, what I said, it also wasn’t going to be a negative book.
There are many positive reviews of my book, one of those reviews is below:
Review by Author & Activist, T.R. Bauer –
5.0 out of 5 stars – Not just an exceptional piece of work, this book is a lifeline!
“King Solomon once lamented that there is nothing new under the sun. The great author, T.S. Eliot, famously wrote, “Good writers borrow, great writers steal.” In the case of this book I believe Ilana Estelle …
Read on »When I started to put my first book together, I had no idea what form it would take. My book journey started so that I could understand my life around a disability I didn’t know I had. Not knowing what my symptoms were, it was important I brought them together in a safe, self-contained and non-judgmental way.
Looking back on ‘My Book’ and using reflection, it would also have been easy for me to write about my experiences negatively, to continue to see those experiences negatively, to shout those responsible out …
I am fortunate my book was published on the 2nd January 2020, a few days before Covid_19 hit the headlines in the UK. Nothing else was said or done about Covid_19, until the UK went into lock down on the 23rd March.
Then on the 26th February 2020 my book was published in the States. The way the pandemic is being handled by the UK …
Read on »My Book Cerebral Palsy: ‘A Story’ Finding the Calm after the Storm is not only about my experiences and my life it is my spiritual journey.
I know that what I have shared in the book, will provide you with an insight into your own lives. Although it is not substitute for your own intuition, it will allow you to understand and follow your own inner …
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