Having a baby is a life-changing experience, and for Ariane Beeston it was profoundly so. She experienced postpartum psychosis, a rare and debilitating mental illness. As part of her healing journey, she started writing about her experiences. After completing Freelance Writing Stage 1 at the Australian Writers' Centre, Ariane kickstarted her freelance writing career and has now published a memoir, Because I'm Not Myself, You See, with Black Inc.
“I was lucky enough to receive a few offers and in the end decided to sign with Sophy Williams at Black Inc. She knew exactly what I wanted to achieve and I knew immediately that she was the one who was going to help me bring my book to life,” Ariane told us. “The day her email appeared in my inbox I jumped up and down and called my husband immediately. My whole body was shaking. It was a dream come true and has been every day since.”
Writing the book she needed to read
Ariane was a child protection caseworker and mental health professional before she developed postpartum psychosis, which is a rare mental illness that occurs in one to two in every 1000 new mums.
“The book charts my experience of being a new mum, and mental health professional who found herself on a mother and baby psychiatric unit. It's also about finding humour, beauty and purpose on the other side of serious mental illness. I wrote the book I needed to read when I was unwell,” Ariane says.
“My main motivation to do it was because I was struggling with how to structure the book (which is common with memoir!). It really helped me get my head around the different options for approaching memoir as well as great advice around ethics, research and comparative titles.”
Ariane wrote a proposal and 10,000 words and then started pitching to agents.
“I was lucky enough to sign with Benython Oldfield at Zeitgeist Writers and together we refined the proposal and polished the words before submitting it to a list of publishers. It was out on submission for a month which was a strange nerve-wracking time. I checked and re-checked my email and held my breath every time I saw his name on my phone!”
Then came the news that Black Inc wanted to commission her memoir.
“This is the book I needed when I was unwell and feeling alone and scared. I hope it finds its way to others who might need it too,” Ariane says. “While the book tackles severe mental illness, it's also an exploration of what we call matrescence or the transition to motherhood. I think most mothers will find themselves somewhere in these pages and hopefully feel seen and less alone. I hope it makes people laugh too!”
Ariane knew that writing a memoir would be hard, particularly one that deals with such a difficult part of her life, so she put strategies in place to help her during the process.
“I knew it would be taxing but going over painful memories again and again was incredibly draining and certainly took its toll at times. I made sure I was communicating with my editors and letting them know if I needed more time to meet deadlines. (The answer was always yes, take your time!) I also made sure I was still doing things that bring me joy outside of writing the book — dance classes and long walks and seeing friends. I also continued to seek mental health support if I needed it, too.”
From psychologist to writer
Before taking on the challenge of writing a memoir, Ariane had written about her experiences for news sites and magazines. She threw herself into the world of freelance writing after completing Freelance Writing Stage 1.
“This course changed my life! I was still recovering after my postpartum psychosis and too unwell to work as a psychologist. I always wanted to be a writer so I thought I'd do the course and see where it took me. And gosh — after publishing my first piece about my illness with Mamamia I then started freelancing for other parenting and lifestyle publications. Not long after, I was offered a staff writer role at Fairfax Media's Essential Baby and Kids. I wrote for them for four years until we merged with Nine and became 9Honey.”
Ariane is now out actively publicising Because I'm Not Myself, You See, and continues to work at The Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) and teach ballet to beginner adults.
“I do a lot of writing for work but I'm also looking forward to tackling a lighter topic with the next book!”
Ariane continues to recommend AWC courses to friends and family. “I always say that the first course changed my life — it taught me how to structure a news piece and pitch my writing. I'm very grateful.”
Ariane was a child protection caseworker and mental health professional before she developed postpartum psychosis, which is a rare mental illness that occurs in one to two in every 1000 new mums.
