Category: Media
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How I coped when my kids got a step-dad
Seeing my ex-wife with someone else has been a big challenge — it means my kids have a ‘stepdad’.
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How I created a new ‘home’ for my kids after my separation
After the breakdown of his marriage, JC Clapham moved out of the family home. This is how he built another one for his three young kids.
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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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#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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“Life by a thousand cuts’ | The Westsider
As a creative writing student quite some years ago, one of the mantras instilled in me was to “kill your darlings”. Alarming to hear out of context, to be sure. What it means for writers is to focus on the overall purpose or value of your piece of writing, and to be fearless in cutting…
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‘Doona Daze’ | The Westsider
O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close In midst of this thine hymn my willing eyes, Or wait the “Amen,” ere thy poppy throws Around my bed its lulling charities. Then save me, or the passed day will shine Upon my pillow, breeding many woes, Save me from curious Conscience, that still lords…
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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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Review: LOVES ME / LOVES ME NOT at Adelaide Fringe
Review of Loves Me/Loves Me Not by Glam Adelaide’s Arts Editor, Brian Godfrey. JC Clapham had a big hit here last Adelaide Fringe with a show called Humpty Dumpty Daddy. After seeing his latest Fringe show, Loves Me/Loves Me Not, I wish I could have seen that one as well. This reviewer came out of…