More than Us by Dawn Barker
Published: 21st May 2018
Publisher: Canelo
Pages: 334
Genre: Women's Fiction, Family Drama
Available on Kindle
Today I'd like to welcome Dawn Barker to my blog, author of the inspiring novel More Than Us, she's going to give us some insight into the inspiration for the novel, over to Dawn.
Blurb
When
parents disagree on how to care for their child, is it justifiable to take
extreme measures?
Emily and Paul have a glorious home, money in the bank and two beautiful
children. Since leaving Scotland for Paul to play football for an Australian
team they have been blessed. But sadness lies behind the picture-perfect family
- sixteen-year-old Cameron has battled with health troubles his entire life.
There's no name for what he has, but his disruptive behaviour, OCD and
difficulty in social situations is a constant source of worry.
When Paul's career comes to a shuddering halt, he descends into a spiral
of addiction, gambling away the family's future. By the time he seeks help,
it's his new boss Damien who recommends and pays for a rehab facility.
While Paul is away, Emily has to make a tough decision about their son.
She keeps it from Paul knowing he'll disapprove. And when a terrible accident
reveals the truth, Paul takes his son and goes on the run, leaving Emily to
care for fourteen-year-old Tilly, who unbeknown to her parents is fighting
battles of her own.
Can the family join together for the sake of their loved ones, or will
their troubles tear them apart?
Guest Post: The Inspiration Behind More than Us by Dawn Barker
The inspiration for writing More Than Us
Dawn Barker
First of
all, thank you for having me on your blog today. I’m very excited that More
Than Us, my third novel, is out now!
Of all my
books, More Than Us was the one that
took the longest to write. I remember having the first idea for it about four
years ago, while my family and I were living in Cape Town in South Africa. I
remember walking in the beautiful Camps Bay area with my husband and talking
about the problems that young sportsmen (and women) face after being drafted in
their teenage years into elite sport, then propelled into a life where they are
treated like stars. Here in Australia, there have been some high-profile cases
of Australian Rules Football and swimming stars who have then struggled to
adjust to the real world when their careers end and become addicted to
substances. I know in the UK, there have been similar stories reported of
soccer stars, where the fame and money involved is almost incomprehensible. For
many young men, when their career ends, often in their twenties or thirties,
they have to adjust to real life, which is difficult when they haven’t
completed their education, and have never had to learn to manage things the way
that the rest of us do. I thought this would be an interesting character for a
book.
That idea
grew, but I needed more, and then I recalled a case I saw at work (I’m a
psychiatrist for my day job) many years ago, when a family disagreed with the
cause of their teenage son’s psychosis. This child’s father sought alternative
treatment, while the mother wanted the treatment that I recommended as a
doctor. I never knew how that case ended, as I only saw the family briefly, so
I thought that writing about a similar case would allow me to explore all the
complicated issues and beliefs that we have in our society about mental
illness.
I then
started writing the first draft of this book a few years ago, combining those
ideas and also exploring the often-conflicting views about mental illness in
children. As a child psychiatrist, I have absolutely no doubt that children can
become psychiatrically unwell, of course, but I also feel that sometimes,
mental illness is over diagnosed, and I share the concern of many about the use
of medication in children when diagnosis is unclear.
In writing More Than Us, I hoped to explore all of
these issues through the eyes of a fictional family living that experience. It
certainly helped me to consider many of the issues in depth and I hope that it
provokes some thought and discussion amongst readers.
Thanks
again for having me on your blog today!
About the Author
Dawn
Barker is a psychiatrist and
author. She grew up in Scotland, then in 2001 she moved to Australia, completed
her psychiatric training and began writing. Her first novel, Fractured, was
selected for the 2010 Hachette/Queensland Writers Centre manuscript development
programme, was one of Australia's bestselling debut fiction titles for 2013,
and was shortlisted for the 2014 WA Premier's Book Awards. Her second novel is
Let Her Go. Dawn lives in Perth with her husband and three young children.
Twitter: @drdawnbarker
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