Samira Graham; Writer and Author

My Family
It seems self evident to say that my family is the most important part of my life and it will also be of no surprise to anyone that my son and daughter come joint top of the list to keep me awake at night. What could be a surprise is that my daughter, Rosalind is one month away from being 27 whilst my son Philip is 24 years old. Their lives are a shambles from where I sit although I know they try very hard to lead the best lives possible, they don't always succeed and of course, as their mother I feel responsible but don't always know how to put things right. As I seem to be getting ahead of myself let me retrace my thoughts and introduce my family to you one at a time.
Thomas is my husband. I am the most fortunate of women to be with him. I was on my own with Rosalind and Philip for over fourteen years and for those of you have been single parents you will know how lonely that can be. It took me a long time to realise that my life was not over just because I had made the mistake of marrying the wrong man; it took me ten years to realise that I did not have to stay with the wrong man. By then I had the children and was nearly broken. I did wake up in time and survived, in the words of Gloria Gaynor but it took me 18 years to find Thomas and I was on the brink of giving up, surrendering my life to its single, unpartnered status. I was going to concentrate on my career, get a hobby, and travel to far distant shores! The latter would not have been easy because I don't like flying but I did get as far as having the vaccinations. Fortunately fate intervened and Thomas came in to my life and here I am, married to an intelligent, funny, handsome man who I kept missing for years.
Our paths might have crossed on more than one occasion. We have lived and studied in the same obscure places at one time or another and even worked for the same company but always at different points on the time line. In the end fate through us together in a supermarket aisle and the rest, as they say and I hope, is history.

My daughter Rosalind is now 27 years old. We do not have an easy relationship although I love her very much and think that she copes well with what is a difficult life. Rosalind has epilepsy and she falls in to the 15% of those with epilepsy whose fits are poorly controlled. She has been assessed for surgery, getting as far as having her brain exposed but the focul area (that is the area of the brain from where the irregular discharges originate) was found to be so great that continuing with the operation would have amounted to a lobotomy. So, that was a non starter really. She has been through the whole gamut of medication and, admittedly, as she has grown older the character and the frequency of seizures have changed; they are less frequent but she seems to be less able to cope. Rosalind is, of course, much more than her epilepsy. She has an artistic flair, she is very sociable and, at one time, she was musical, although she has given up playing an instrument. Her moods are volatile, they always have been and we have not always seen eye to eye on life. I seem to be a trigger for her volatility and a target for her anger; she is very angry about her epilepsy. My hope is that one day she will learn to use the energy that goes in to hating the world to embrace life and enjoy it in away that will lead to contentment.

My son, Philip is 24 years old. He is also, like his sister, disadvantaged but for him it is his hearing. He has limited hearing in both ears but, considering, manages remarkably well. If you were to suggest that he is disabled he would not understand this as a concept; for Philip it is just how he is but for me, well, don't get me started! I know it was birth injury. Try and prove it! My experience is that doctors close ranks. So we just had to learn to live with it or should I say Phil had to learn. Anyway, for all that, he works, he is cheerful and whilst a simple soul, he is funny, witty and too good natured by half. He is a prime target for the all too many people out there ready to take advantage of a vulnerable friendly being. Thomas calls him 'Rodney' because Phil is also a dip stick! With Philip when life is good it is very, very good but when there are problems it is like standing over a flaming abyss!

I started writing because I love stories. I am always narrating stories in my head and, if you could look into my brain you would see, it is brimming over with first lines! I love telling stories (the fairy type not the fib type), I love reading stories and I have always adored listening to stories! Now I have taken the plunge and started writing down what comes in to my imagination. It's not easy; I find that once I start thinking too hard about how to phrase ideas, the most apporpriate descriptions, similies to use and ensuring that dialogue rings true sometimes the original notion bursts like a bubble and is lost. But sometimes the ideas take shape and find a home on the page.