Dec 21 - Ballito Umhl

she gave birth to their first son, William. “He came into
this world like a firecracker. He is my wild, strong warrior
child. Luke, who was born two years later, is sunny, warm
and easy-going.”
Jess suffered from post-natal depression and says
she ‘bumbled’ her way through the first few years of
parenting. “I started a blog called The Rookie Mom where
I spoke openly and honestly about the behind-thescenes
side of mothering. People really enjoyed it, I think
because so many could relate. I have a lot of written
content from that season of my life because of the blog.”
When William started struggling at school and was
diagnosed with ADHD, Jess researched and found out
as much as she could about it. “The more I read, the
clearer it became. I went back to my blog and it was
right there, written all over the pages. This was me.
The ‘time-blindness’, forgetfulness, inability to commit,
procrastinating - I was textbook ADHD. The whole time
I believed negative things about myself, that I was lazy,
lacked self-discipline and even that I just wasn’t actually
that ‘smart’! It led to depression, anxiety and very low
self-confidence.”
It was then, Jess says, that she realised what her book
had to be about. “I suddenly knew what I needed to
write about - the story of being stuck in a cage, finding
keys along the way and walking out into freedom. Empty
Cages is about naming your cage, picking up keys to
unlock it, and walking out the door and into freedom.”
Jess hired a writing coach to help her with structure and
accountability when she set out to write her book. “I so
enjoyed the writing process. I’m actually not even very
attached to the outcome and success in terms of sales,
although I would love to see it make a difference and
help others.”
Empty Cages: Keys to Finding Freedom is not only about
ADHD. Jess says it’s about the universal truth of being
able to find what is holding you back in life and getting
the support you need to solve the problem.
“I would never have found my freedom if I hadn’t been
around good people who helped me lean in and bring
what was in the darkness into the light. I’m much kinder
to myself now. I have a better sense of humour about
my flaws and more receive empathy from my family.
I’m also harder on myself where I need to be. It’s been
so liberating and the positive knock-on effect on my
mental health has been
amazing.
“No matter what we are
struggling to break free
from, when we know
better, we can do better.
When you can name
your cage, you can find
your freedom.”
Details: Empty Cages,
R225, is available online:
www.jessbasson.com,
jessbassson@gmail.com