Meet Ariane Beeston, who shares insights into her powerful memoir Because I'm Not Myself, You See, exploring postpartum psychosis, her writing journey, and the therapeutic yet challenging process of recounting personal experiences. This memoir is brave and beautifully written. As a graduate of Australian Writers' Centre, we’re so thrilled for Ariane.
00:00 Introduction 00:19 Using prompts to discover your character 03:39 Nat Newman’s writing tip 08:32 Setting writing goals 11:23 Win: The Paris Gown by Christine Wells 14:22 Word of the week: Vestige 6:22 Interview with Ariane Beeston, author of Because I'm Not Myself, You See 28:03 The proposal journey 28:17 Navigating rejections and acceptances 29:01 The challenge of writing a book 29:26 Creative Nonfiction insights 30:00 Seamlessly weaving research and personal story 31:14 Overcoming personal obstacles 32:35 The emotional toll of writing 33:36 The urgency to finish 34:58 Post-writing reflections 35:49 The writing timeline 36:52 Managing deadlines and mental health 39:52 Reliving the past through writing 42:04 Ethics and accuracy in memoir writing 46:20 The book's impact and reader responses 48:18 Top tips for writing a memoir 54:02 Conclusion
Ariane Beeston is a former child protection caseworker and psychologist with NSW's Department of Communities and Justice. She was a staff writer at Fairfax Media's Essential Baby and Essential Kids and has also published articles in The Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Life, Babyology and Mamamia. Ariane currently works for Australia's peak body in perinatal mental health, The Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE), as their communications and content manager. She is also a dancer and choreographer. Because I'm Not Myself, You See is her first book.
