I began 2018 with such an interesting job when I photographed a writer called Elaine Halligan, whose book will be published later this year.
Elaine is a parenting adviser in her day job but she has written about how she and her family had to navigate between society’s expectations of how a child ought to be and who her son actually is in reality. The book is called My Child’s Different and, according to her publisher, “tells the true story of her son Sam, who by the age of seven had been excluded from three schools and was later diagnosed with a whole host of labels, ranging from autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) to pathological demand avoidance (PDA) to severe dyslexia. He had become ‘the alphabet kid’. However, having never given up on the picture they had of who he could be, Sam’s parents took positive parenting courses and researched all kinds of different therapies to support him. They believed he was a good and capable person, and that belief in turn gave Sam his resilience, grit and an ability to bounce back in the face of adversity.” (Crown House Publishing, 2018) Elaine’s son, now a young adult, is doing brilliant things and is described as a “budding entrepreneur”.
It was lovely chatting with Elaine and hearing her story, and I was pleased to see a picture I took online so soon after our shoot.
You can pre-order the book here.
If you’re a writer in need of a photograph, do get in touch with me via email, photo@sarahjanefield.co.uk, or give me a call on 07581 694934 to chat through the sort of thing you’re looking for.
(c)SJField 2018
Sarah Furniss Photography 