Why I Write Fiction That Explores Human Resilience

My fifth work of fiction has now been released which is very exciting. Each book has been a different genre. Facing Charlie was a coming-of-age story, Who Are We To Be was YA dystopian fiction, Dear Jane was a thriller, Henry's Home was an illustrated children's book and now we've got The Meet Cute Curse which is a romantic comedy. But there is a common theme throughout all of them and that is resilience...

I have struggled with an anxiety disorder for over a decade (in fact, it's approaching two decades). Over the years, I've learned a lot about myself when forced to face challenging situations. There are things that I had no problem with as a child that now are some of my greatest fears. In order to get through day-to-day life, I've had to be resilient. The truth is that we all do.

Every single one of us face challenges every single day. There are some who's challenges are much greater, but at the end of the day, your biggest challenge is exactly that; your biggest challenge. It doesn't matter what someone else is going through - you can still be struggling.

I've released multiple short self-help guides that aim to help you deal with anxiety in a practical manner, but I also release fiction. I've always enjoyed writing stories, but in every story, I want there to be a glimmer of hope for those who are struggling (especially with anxiety).

Facing Charlie is the most obvious book about resilience when it comes to anxiety. The story focuses on eighteen year old Charlie who debates whether or not she can handle university because of her anxiety. Along the way, she forms various relationships.

Who Are We To Be follows a group of teenagers who decide to escape their town in order to find out the truth - what lies beyond the gates. They have to go against their entire upbringing and fight their way to freedom.

Dear Jane is a story about a toxic family where there are murders involved. Throughout a series of letters, we uncover the truth about who is behind the missing girls and why.

Henry's Home isn't quite about human resilience, but rather a dog's resilience as he tries to find his forever home. Despite the fear and uncertainty he faces, he finds his family and learns to trust again.

Finally, The Meet Cute Curse is a story following thirty year old Eloise as she moves to a city following a bad breakup. She has to find herself again, and despite the distractions and past pain, she is determined not to let agoraphobia and past misfortunes impact her future negatively.

All of these works of fiction are designed to inspire hope (and be entertaining). There's something for everyone. Every character has their flaws as well as their strengths but what we see in each story is that these flaws don't stop them from achieving their goals. They all have to work hard on themselves and navigate through challenging situations, but they manage to do it.

Reading about human resilience can provide you with the hope and motivation to get through your own challenges. After all, the stories that touch us the most, are the ones that we relate to and can learn from. It's the reason that true stories are so impactful. We can learn from it. When we hear about other people succeeding, it helps us to believe that we can succeed too.

Before going to university, I watched Divergent. It became my new favourite film because Tris ended up following her heart, and discovering how capable she truly was, even though so many others saw her as weak. Yes, she had to train incredibly hard but she did it. That gave me the motivation that even though I had severe anxiety, I could go to university. I could get through it even if it was one of the hardest things I had to do.

All of my books will hopefully provide you with entertainment but also that feel-good factor where we see human resilience in the characters who succeed.

You can get your copy now from either Amazon or the Zortex shop.