Category: Life
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How my father’s suicide helped me to become a ‘real man’
It was Saturday, March 28, 1998, when I received the news that would cast a shadow over the rest of my life. I was 16 years old, and nothing would ever be ‘normal’ as I knew it, again. My dad had killed himself and now, 20 years on, I still have a father-shaped hole in…
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I had to walk away from my marriage and job to be a better dad
Married with a young family and a great job, JC Clapham thought he had ticked all the boxes for a good life. Then he nearly lost it all, and himself. On paper, I had the perfect life. Married with three kids, a seemingly great job that paid very well, a mortgage in the suburbs, and…
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Red Dog, I’m Truly Blue | The Westsider
One of the many shitful things about having a parent who died while I was young is that my kids never knew him. In my case, my dad would never be the ‘Pop’ his father was to me. He’d only ever be a blank, a gap, for them. My father’s suicide when I was 16…
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A new career path
Two years ago I had a complete breakdown. I was physically exhausted and mentally shot. A perfect storm of a marriage ending, total burnout and disillusionment with work meant nearly every aspect of my life needed to change. Over the decade beforehand, I had busted a nut to carved out a very promising career as…
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#YOUCANTALKABOUT suicide | The Westsider
A new suicide prevention education campaign has been launched through a collaboration of leading mental health organisations in Australia. The campaign aims to empower people and increase their confidence when it comes to talking about suicide. It is a collaboration between beyondblue, Black Dog Institute, Everymind, headspace, Lifeline, ReachOut and R U OK?, and in…
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Remembering Eurydice
I knew Eurydice Dixon only a little, but she genuinely made a big and bold impression on me. She was intelligent, uniquely funny, and so thoroughly decent. Eurydice was raped and murdered earlier this week on her way home from a comedy gig. She had spent the evening making people laugh and think, and then…
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‘Once I was a Caterpillar’ | The Westsider
My local community newspaper, The Westsider, invited me to write a monthly column on mental health. I’m so rapt! The first piece has been published and is now online. I hope you get something out of it xx How amazing and under-appreciated are caterpillars… These ground/plant-dwelling crawling things change almost completely into a flying insect…
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Profiled in The Westsider
My local community newspaper The Westsider, which covers the inner west of Melbourne, ran a profile of me in their November issue.
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Falling down means the opportunity to get back up again
Pretty chuffed to be this month’s featured profile in my local community newspaper. I mention having a breakdown mid-2016. Because I did. And I feel no shame about that. A lot has changed since then. I’m no longer an award-winning senior executive (at present). I’m no longer married. And I’m less certain of what my…
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New show premieres at Melbourne Fringe
I’m rapt to announce that my new storytelling comedy show, LOVES ME / LOVES ME NOT, premieres at Melbourne Fringe Festival on 21 September 2017. This show is about losing love but finding yourself (and all the shit in between)… it’s a combination of my own story of my marriage ending, as well as some…