Narelle Hudson

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself and your work.
I work as a registered counsellor, supporting people predominantly with grief and loss, and a range of mental health concerns. I also provide natural therapies such as Reiki, crystal healings and massage. I am the author of The Baby Dream: Learning to Live with Infertility and Loss - a book that shares my story of infertility, IVF and pregnancy loss. As well as the 'Love After Loss: Grief Healing Chakra' cards - a card deck that supports people with
messages around all types of grief and loss, and how they relate to the chakras or energy systems in the body.

2. Has writing always been a focus for you or was it a Plan B? 
I have always been a writer, since I was a small child. I find writing a cathartic tool to support my own healing first and foremost, and then to support others, when it has reached the stage of being ready to be published. Writing my story and creating my card deck were an important part of my healing journey.

Writing is also a way of me advocating for others to have healthy grief and loss experiences. Grief and loss is a lonely journey in our grief-avoidant society we live in. Grief and loss related to infertility and pregnancy loss is a type of disenfranchised grief, that it is not recognised as it should be.

3. How do you explore ideas or find inspiration for your work?
Because I write for myself first and foremost my book was based on my personal lived experiences and the emotions I felt as I lived through infertility and loss. A memoir as such. However, after working with many women experiencing grief related to infertility and loss, I believe my experiences are universal and there are many common themes that others can relate to from their own unique experiences.

My card deck is a combination of my lived experiences and my professional knowledge as a grief counsellor. Of the strategies and tools that have supported myself and my clients along the way to navigate grief and loss.

4. What does the process of writing involve for you?
I write daily as a way of processing my feelings and making sense of my world. I write when guided to or when my emotions are too overwhelming to contain. It begins as a private journal as such, a diary to record my life experiences. It is raw, authentic and honest. The editing stage is when my thoughts and experiences are organised in a succinct way to create structure and make it suitable for an audience.

5. And what does writing then also give you in return?
Writing gives me peace, comfort and healing. It allows me to process and express my thoughts and receive messages from spirit to support me on my journey. It inspires me and makes me feel so connected to myself and my life purpose. Even if my work was never published writing is the gift I give myself to express my feelings in a healthy way.

6. Has seeing your work in print changed how you view yourself, and also how you view your NoMo status?
Seeing my work in print is such a privilege, as it allows me to share my experiences and healing strategies with many. I am a great advocate for helping others. I always have been, and my publications assist me to support others in addition to my 1:1 sessions as a counsellor/healer.

Publishing my work has allowed me to step into my power as a public speaker and allows me to feel more connected to the NoMo community, instead of feeling like I am the only one experiencing this. It has also helped me to create beautiful new friends in the community and gain additional individual support.

7. Tell us about the wider reception that you’ve had to sharing your story - has it changed how others have viewed you and your identity as a non-parent?
I have received so much support and respect for my publications. Readers can personally connect to my story and have thanked me for being brave enough to be so honest and raw in sharing my story, as it has helped them feel seen, heard, validated and less alone on their own journey. My book in particular has allowed many people to ‘come out’ to me and share their private experiences also, which had no audience previously.

8. How do you feel about the current representation of childless and/or childfree people in literature?
I feel like the representation of childless and childfree people in literature is growing, which is lovely to see. However, I feel like there is still a long way to go. We are still seen as a minority and so many still feel alone in this. There is still so much shame and isolation in this area, when there are so many women/men experiencing infertility, childlessness and/or choosing to be childfree.

9. What would you like the publishing world to know about non-parents, both as writers and
readers, and our stories?
We are no different to any other writers and it is important our stories are shared. Our stories represent so many people in our community currently struggling in isolation. They help validate others who are feeling unseen and to slowly remove the stigma around a common experience.

10. What future plans do you have, especially for your writing?
My next book will be based on my story of another kind of grief and loss - of what it is like to lose a spouse. I will continue to support people with their grief and loss as a counsellor and healer, and I will continue to share my publications.