Interview with Author of, "Eddy Finds a Family"
Debby Wells with Sarah McGeough
Please listen in on Sarah McGeough and me as we talk about her very personal journey to have a baby. After losing her ability to have a child, waiting to adopt, the arrival of their adopted baby son. Sarah openly discusses the feelings and issues she and her husband dealt with while waiting for the adoption to be final and the changes in their lives after he arrives home.
We tried for a child for 8 years. It was an immensely challenging and emotional
time. We went through two rounds of IVF, an ectopic pregnancy, diagnosis of
adenomyosis and sadly then a hysterectomy. We were determined to have a
child so started to research adoption and decided this was something we
wanted to pursue. We waited three years to adopt our son. It was a long and
draining process and at times we felt like giving up. Thankfully an amazing
social worker came to our rescue and within a few months we were told we
could potentially be matched to a baby who had not yet been born.
It was a difficult journey but we completed our family in 2016 and adopted our
son. At the time we didn’t feel there were many books available to help him
understand his adoption journey and so during lockdown I decided to self-
publish my first children’s book, "Eddy Finds a Family" in December 2020.
Writing a book has been a life changing experience for me. The first lock-down
in 2020 was tough but suddenly having a goal to write a book was making me
feel excitement on a whole new level. I seemed to have buried my creative
side, but suddenly there it was, bursting to come out. I loved every moment
and each step I took made me more and more determined to get my book out
there into the world. My book is a tribute to our son which also helped as a
motivator. It means so much to be able to give him this gift as his mummy.
My goal was to write a colourful and engaging story so all children would be
able to understand adoption in a better way.
"Eddy Finds a Family" is unique as it explains both the parent and child’s journey through adoption. My son often asks, ‘How did you find me?’ and, ‘Was I lost?’ as he is interested to know how we came together to be a family. This is so vitally important. My son has been
my chief editor, asking questions about the characters and commenting on the
draft illustrations. It has been wonderful for him to have such involvement and
having a child’s perspective has helped fine-tune the story so I have confidence
it will appeal to many children and they will get great joy from the characters.
I am pleased to say I have started to write the next book in the series, "Eddy
Feels at Home". I have got many people engaged in ideas and it is receiving
great support. It is going to be about Eddy settling in with his new family,
which is something that I have never seen written about in children’s books. I
love knowing my book has touched the hearts of many children and would be
thrilled for The Flamingo Family to become well known in many households.
A personalized signed copy of Eddy Finds a Family can be purchased via my
website www.theflamingofamily.co.uk. My book is also available via Amazon
as a softback. If you would like to connect then please do email me at
eddy@theflamingofamily.co.uk. I can also be found on Instagram
@the_flamingofamily and my Facebook page @theflamingofamilybook.
www.theflamingofamily.co.uk.
Email: eddy@theflamingofamily.co.uk.
Thank so much
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Sarah McGeough - BIO 2021
Bio May 2021 – Eddy Finds a Family
We tried for a child for 8 years. It was an immensely challenging and emotional
time. We went through two rounds of IVF, an ectopic pregnancy, diagnosis of
adenomyosis and sadly then a hysterectomy. We were determined to have a
child so started to research adoption and decided this was something we
wanted to pursue. We waited three years to adopt our son. It was a long and
draining process and at times we felt like giving up. Thankfully an amazing
social worker came to our rescue and within a few months we were told we
could potentially be matched to a baby who had not yet been born. This was
most certainly a wow moment; and once this happened, we would continue to
keep getting these wow moments again and again. The next wow was when
we were on holiday in Majorca. We got an email telling us our potential son
had been born, he was doing well, told us his name and how much he
weighed. This was such a surreal moment as you don’t believe it is happening.
It was a difficult journey but we completed our family in 2016 and adopted our
son. At the time we didn’t feel there were many books available to help him
understand his adoption journey and so during lockdown I decided to self-
publish my first children’s book Eddy Finds a Family in December 2020.
Writing a book has been a life changing experience for me. The first lockdown
in 2020 was tough but suddenly having a goal to write a book was making me
feel excitement on a whole new level. I seemed to have buried my creative
side, but suddenly there it was, bursting to come out. I loved every moment
and each step I took made me more and more determined to get my book out
there into the world. My book is a tribute to our son which also helped as a
motivator. It means so much to be able to give him this gift as his mummy.
My goal was to write a colourful and engaging story so all children would be
able to understand adoption in a better way. Eddy Finds a Family is unique as it
explains both the parent and child’s journey through adoption. My son often
asks, ‘How did you find me?’ and, ‘Was I lost?’ as he is interested to know how
we came together to be a family. This is so vitally important. My son has been
my chief editor, asking questions about the characters and commenting on the
draft illustrations. It has been wonderful for him to have such involvement and
having a child’s perspective has helped fine-tune the story so I have confidence
it will appeal to many children and they will get great joy from the characters.
As the topic of adoption is extremely sensitive, I had to ensure the content was
precise, accurate and up to date. I worked closely over several months with
our social worker to proofread and edit every fine detail. I’m so grateful to Sue
Armstrong Brown, CEO of Adoption UK who read the final manuscript and
wrote such a positive review which is featured on the back cover of my book.
I have been delighted by the response with the limited edition selling out in
four days. Many parents have bought my book and adoption communities
seem to be singing out for more. My book is now available on Amazon.
I am pleased to say I have started to write the next book in the series Eddy
Feels at Home. I have got many people engaged in ideas and it is receiving
great support. It is going to be about Eddy settling in with his new family,
which is something that I have never seen written about in children’s books. I
love knowing my book has touched the hearts of many children and would be
thrilled for The Flamingo Family to become well known in many households.
Sarah McGeough, children’s author
www.theflamingofamily.co.uk
eddy@theflamingofamily.co.uk