Episode 105: Our Altered Life with Charlie Beswick

Charlie Beswick is a blogger, an author, CEO of More than a Face, and a mom to 18-year-old twins, Oliver and Harry. While Oliver was born healthy, Harry was born with a craniofacial condition, meaning he had an underdeveloped face and was later diagnosed with autism. Driven to make a difference in people's lives, being a teacher (for over 16 years now), to her feels like second nature. However, despite that deep love for her calling, the challenges of raising a medically complex child made her take a two-year break from teaching. That sabbatical leave gave her time to go back and read all the journals that recorded her honest expression of her frustrations, questions, and struggles to be a mom to a child with special needs, and this formed the basis of her book Our Altered Life. 

Highlights:

• With the support and encouragement of her friends who knew about her journey, she published the book (which she wrote for 9 years), Our Altered Life
• Parents who reached out to thank her for speaking up for them through the book made her realize she could now help and make a difference among these parents
• Thus started the creation of a space where people can honestly freely and vulnerably express their feelings without being judged - This community has evolved since recording and is called S.E.N.D* Gin & Cheese 
• Tips for parents who are just beginning on a similar journey: be organized (keep records, write thoughts and feelings), communicate especially to a spouse, and keep connected with a support system
• Words of encouragement are generally considered helpful in these situations, but a safe space for honest and brutal expression of frustrations could be the long-missing link to true healing

It took her 6 years of mothering Harry before she finally admitted she needed mental health support. And now, instead of encouraging moms to be superwomen, she resonates with the huge emphasis on self-care and simple living. Apart from helping parents with special needs and diagnosis, she also works with organisations who want to better understand and support working carers. 

If you want to learn more from her and her journey, look her up at @ouralteredlife.com or info@charliebeswick.

* S.E.N.D - Special Educational Need and Disability 

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52 Weeks of Me is hosted by Jacklyn Osborne and Erika Brooks.
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