I’m Andi, author, illustrator, artist and poet, as well as…

…a mom of three very different, incredible children who require love and guidance navigating their neurospicy/neurotypical brains.

I’m a partner to the same man for almost 18 years and we muddle through life together, with a rare child-free date day/night thrown in whenever there’s time to try and remember ourselves. 

I provide support and company to my wonderful mom, who has faced more downs than ups over recent years, but still gets going every day.

I’m also a sister, sister-in-law, aunt, great aunt, niece and (hopefully, others think) a good friend to a small number of people.

I work as a HLTA in a primary school, mostly teaching in Key Stage 1, which I love, even though as I get older I find the chairs too low for my creaking knees.

I look after our pets (a 28 year old terrapin and a 1 year old cockapoo) and try to tame our large cottage garden, so it doesn’t resemble a place where the wild things would go.

I run our household whilst also experiencing immense peri-menopausal brain fog. The more I delve into the world of autism/adhd/pda etc, the more I believe I’m the root cause of why our children are the way they are.

My brain is constantly whirring, with story ideas coming to me day and night, illustration designs popping up whenever they choose, and a desire to be discovered that fights with my imposter syndrome/rejection sensitive dysphoria regularly.

I think because my brain is messy I crave tidiness. I’m calm on the surface whilst panicking internally and I am constantly worrying about every little thing.

I have the short-term memory of something with no short-term memory, but my long-term memory is without equal…want to know lyrics to songs I heard in my single-digit years then no problem, want to know where I put the important letter I need to deal with, then sorry, no clue!

I constantly feel on edge, often feel overwhelmed and usually feel like I could do better, but hey, isn’t that what makes life interesting!?”

If you feel the same maybe let me know, we can discuss coping strategies over a virtual cup of tea!