Tag: trauma

My nana was my favourite person in the world. From as young as three, Mum would drop me off at church, help me put my backpack on and I’d waddle in to meet Nana. During worship, we’d cuddle through the songs. She was an amazing singer; I was tone-deaf. She’d whisper to me, “You have an amazing voice . . . you’re not quite hitting it . . . we can get you there.” This is what my Saturday looked like every week until I moved away for university at 18. I always felt so loved by her—but she was the exception.

Studies indicate that most people experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, whether physical or psychological.

It is said that the intelligent and cynical Talleyrand, a French diplomat and Catholic priest who was later secularised, said to Napoleon when asked to devise a political message: "Sir, give me the idea and I'll find the arguments myself..." If such an intellectual attitude is cynical and unscrupulous in politics, let's imagine the consequences in the religious sphere.

Every experience we live teaches us something about the world and God. These lessons are always perfectible. From the pain of other people, however, we learn the wrong lessons so easily.

Maid continues the tradition of a made-for-television series that explores a story with depth and detail that a feature film cannot. Rather than being action packed from start to finish, each episode in Maid has a story arc that keeps you on the edge of your seat while simultaneously building the greater narrative. Unlike shows that go on forever or movies squeezed into two hours, these limited mini-series are like extended movies. There is no filler action, every scene is carefully crafted to continue the storyline and the characters are developed to a depth not possible in other styles of storytelling.

When I was four years old, my younger brother was born. My parents focused on my brother and spent less time with me. It was only 40 years later that I discovered how this had affected me.