The Idea

Dealing with the public on the phone and face to face in her volunteer works, Ia has met several abusive people with disabilities —while she has a wonderful one at home.

A paragraph from SYDNEY'S SONG says, "Some people with disabilities liked to flash their limitations like a badge: 'No Sydney. Not fair to compare us to radiant, peaceful Christopher Reeves. He’s rich. He has a lovely wife, paid attendants, adoring fans. We suffer like he does—minus all the pampering. So we have every right to be bitter! It’s our privilege to snap off everyone’s head! We have disabilities. We’re entitled to be mean!'"

This novel shows that it doesn't have to be like that.

A work of fiction based on real events, the first half Sydney's Song is a socio-fiction, humorous and tragic, about my former co-workers. It is an insider’s account of a modern day’s call-centre slavery through merciless abuse by callers, employer and government agencies. The second half is my husband’s true condition and visits his sufferings due to brain injury which, again, is tragically funny. The book calls for dialogue and tolerance on difficult topics pertaining to modern society but in a light and airy rather than heavy-handed way.