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No One Told Me. Stillbirth, infertility, depression and more
A deeply personal story of Christina and the difficulties she encountered with stillbirths, infertility, grief, depression including 35 operations over 20 years.
It’s a story of determination and courage when tragedy hits. It’s the book Christina had wished was available when she was experiencing all her challenges. As Christina says, “I believe that it not only takes a village to raise children, it takes a village to get through this life.”
To connecr with Christina .... https://thebookadviser.com.au/product/no-one-told-me/ https://www.instagram.com/noonetoldme_story/ https://www.instagram.com/christina__georgiades/ https://www.facebook.com/christina.george.756992 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567219597521 https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-georgiades-03831182/
SPEAKER_00
Good afternoon, Christine Georgiatis. Welcome to Yellow Shelf. Thank you very much. Oh, pleasure to have you here, Christine. I'm so glad that we were connected. You get to share about your beautiful memoir. Congratulations. I know it's available now. Tell us all about your book, No One Told Me.
SPEAKER_01
Thank you, Joe. I'm very excited to be here. And I suppose this is a very serious topic, but there is a lot of lightness about, I suppose, the healing process. And that sort of counteracts it all. It is, it's a very personal journey and an account of my experiences, and it's very honest and raw. It covers topics like stillbirth, IVF, infertility, grief, postnatal and prenatal depression. And, you know, they are pretty raw and hard topics. However, I think there was a real need for it. And like I said, it's got a lot of strategies that people can choose to use if they, you know, they relate to them and they think that that would work for them. But I think one of the messages to in the book for me, and I wanted to put this out, that's what my book is about. One of them is about the village of people and village around you that allows healing but also supports you through the hard times. And I think people are a bit scared to tell their story, um, and therefore they don't seek help. And the village of people is a massive resource for everything. But also, I think understanding that healing um doesn't erase the past, it it just changes the meaning of things. So it turns for me, the book is about turning old wounds and um into wisdom and raw pain into purpose. And I found a real purpose in writing this book. I've connected with my audiences, um, and even if you haven't been through it, it helps you to have an understanding. And I think just as we had 20 years ago with breast cancer, and you know, there wasn't as much awareness. I think it's there's a real need for this not to be to be subject so that people can come out, share their stories, get the support they need. Um, so my book provides strategies and ideas, but it also gives you um the perspective of just raw, this is how it was, this is what happened. And I think that helps with not feeling so lonely in your own journey when you can connect with somebody else that has experienced it. Um, because that's what I experienced 22 years ago when I first started this journey. Um, it was very lonely because I literally left the hospital after having a stillborn and got some, you know, uh just some paperwork from the hospital there that was very methodical and just when you lose a baby, this is what you do. And it was, I couldn't connect with it, and I found that contributed to my depression because I wanted to know that someone else knew how I felt. So this is why I thought, you know, this is a good message, and I I want people to know that this book is understanding, that it's healing, and it's also hope for the future, because you do feel quite helpless and hopeless when these sort of things happen, these tragedies and these adversities that you come across. So I I I wanted to write some positives because there have been positives in the journey and lots of them. So um initially, something that started as I'm never gonna recover from this has ended in beautiful things, you know, one of them being publishing my book.
SPEAKER_00
Yes. And you know, I was thinking uh just as you were speaking as well, um, you know, this story is about you finding your strength. And you mentioned over a period of 20 years, so you lived this, went through it, and then, you know, over time you've been able to now write this memoir. I mean, that's an incredible achievement, and you've, you know, throughout that, you've shown the courage and that resilience to keep going. Um, you know, there'll be people listening who are going through this or know someone or can relate on some level. Um, do you want to tell us about why did you decide to write the book?
SPEAKER_01
Yes. So well, initially 10 years ago, I wrote it as a part of my cathartic healing. I was not planning to publish, and that's why it is so raw because I wasn't thinking about an audience. Yeah, I was just going, I'm gonna write down what I feel because I need to get this pen to paper. You know, being a writer and being an English teacher, and I love writing and journaling, and you know, sort of that helps me with my emotions. And I started writing and I was working on it, working on it, and then I went, do you know what this might be good for other people as well? It kind of just I know that sounds simplistic, but the thought just came to me and I went, why not? Um, and then you know, the fear crept in and I went, Do you really want to tell everybody like what happened and all of the details? And then I went, actually I do, because after speaking to a lot of women, um, a friend of mine who went through the same experience said to me, I don't have the strength to share. You do, you have the personality, you have the ability to write. This will help lots of people. You can be our voice. And I went, you know what, that's that's exactly what I want to do. It just kind of changed the direction of my life. I mean, I'm still teaching, but I'm doing articles, interviews, I'm doing public speaking. I've just branched out and I've I've gone, yeah, I can do this, I can share. And I think for me too, Joe, the loneliness that I felt going through this journey was debilitating. It was so awful. And the thing is that I had so many people around me, beautiful people, and my, you know, my friends, my family, everybody was just so beautiful to me, but I still felt that loneliness because I went, no one understands. They don't. I know they empathize, and but I wanted to read a personal story. I wanted someone to share that pain, not wanting them to, but wanting them to share it with me. Um, so for me, I just went, I've got to relive this thing um in order to write it authentically. And I actually had to go back to my counsellor what because there were moments that there were triggers, but it was worth it. I just went, you know, I'm so proud of the fact that I overcame the fear, if you like, because I thought everybody's gonna read this and they're gonna, well, not everybody, but a lot of people, and they will know all these personal details, you know. But I had to overcome that fear, and I was inspired by um, I suppose, other people's stories as well. And I went, yeah, I I can do this. I have the confidence, I have the ability, I'm gonna do it, and I'm just gonna put it out there and we'll see what happens. Yeah, you know, and it helped with my healing as far as to I was able to have really good conversations since I've published. I've connected with so many women who have private DM'd me and said, Can we have a chat? And I feel like I'm uh something beautiful has come out of such a tragic situation, you know. Um, and it wasn't only the stillworth, it was it was the whole journey. So 36 surgeries to have my children, um, you know, lots of medical scares, IVF, the emotional trauma. It's a lot, and I thought, you know, even if there's snippets where people think, yeah, I can relate to that. Um, but it's also for awareness. I think if you understand it more, you're able to support a friend more, you're able to um, I suppose, work towards making this not so taboo because it was really taboo 22 years ago. It's come a long way, but it hasn't got there yet. Yeah. So I was, you know, after I had a healthy child, after, you know, stillborn and miscarriages, um, it was like people expected, and not in a mean way, but said, Oh, you've got a baby now, you're okay. Um, no, it doesn't work that way. So I think it's not that people are not cruel, you know, especially in situations like this, but it's lack of knowledge, yeah, you know, and not knowing. And some people just avoided me because they were too scared, didn't know what to say. And I understand that as well. It's difficult. You think, oh, I don't want to upset somebody. But I think, you know, these sort of um memoirs and information that goes out to people because it's so personal, it gives them a sense of um, okay, I get it now. Maybe they just want me to go up and say nothing and just give them a hug.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01
You know, or you know, um, so I think it creates a lot of awareness, but it creates um sort of this in the community, understanding and help, you know, with mental health being the way it is, and I see my students, you know, it's very difficult and it's heartbreaking. And I think we need empathy and understanding, and we need to be able to help these kids. Why can't we help adults and why can't we help each other? And that's really why I wanted to write the book and get it out there.
SPEAKER_00
Well, the world is blessed that you wrote the book. I think, I think you're right. I think your book gives a connection to others, whether it's the individual going through it, the family, the friend, you know, reading your book, it sort of opens uh opens your mind and gives you insight into yeah, how how to support someone, how to um how to just be there um through yeah, what you may not understand, but yeah, you just want to be that that um that strength.
SPEAKER_01
Yes, and you don't realize your own strength, like self. When I was going through it, because people said after they read my book, they said, How did you how did you do that? How did you get through this? And I said, What do you mean? You just do. And they said, No, not everybody just does. And I went, okay, there were there weren't choices in some circumstances, especially when I had one child, yeah, um, and I was going through IVF with a second one that was unsuccessful for me. Um, I was like, Oh, well, I don't have a choice really. This is what I have to do. Well, I've got a child to look after. Or beforehand, it was like, I want a baby, so these are the things I have to do, whether I like it or not. And and you don't realize that. And after I wrote the book, I reflected because obviously I edited a few times and read it, and I went, How did I find the strength? How did I get through that? You know, it's a lot. How did I get through it? And it gives you a your own personal sense of achievement as well. That, you know, I'm I think I'm proud of the fact that I I did what I did and I found the strength to keep going, even when I didn't think I could. So personally as well, it means a lot to me. You know, it's just for me a measure of my own resilience and strength, as well as what it does for everyone else, hopefully, because you know, I've had such beautiful responses and people telling me things that I didn't um even think about, you know. Um, so one of the ladies, and I don't know her, she just read the book and reached out on social media, and she said to me, Um, I didn't realize that there were these medical options. And I said, Oh, okay. I said, and she I said, Do you want to talk about it? Do you want me to get you some information? Yes, please. Reached out to my obstetrician who um he's he endorsed my book, he wrote the forward and reached out and said, Yeah, I can send you some stuff. And I thought, okay, great, you know, this is this is good. It's this is a tool.
SPEAKER_00
This is there's so much in this book, and that's why it's so wonderful, Christina. Christina, if we're watching, even anywhere in the world, um why if we if we want to learn more about you and the book, do you want to share with us ways that we can connect to you, connect to the book, and I will put that in the show notes.
SPEAKER_01
Thank you. Um, yes, so obviously the book advisor website will be there where you can purchase, but to connect with me, I have an Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and I have two accounts for each because um I started with a no one told me page and and then um there was lots of people finding me just on my personal page, and I went, you know, um, can I share this? And I I thought, yeah, because this is the real me. Uh the posts I've got up are just family and nothing, you know, and I don't care about sharing that because that's me, and I my authenticity is what I'm presenting in this book and my real life. So I don't care if they see the real life stuff as well. So people connect with so now I have two Facebooks, two Instagrams, LinkedIn, and I put up um reels, and um, of course, you can message me, and yeah, I've even met up some um women that wanted um to connect, and they asked if they could meet for a coffee. I'm open. Yeah, I know. Amazing. And I'm happy to do that because like I said, sometimes you just need a hug, you know.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, yeah, wow. I mean, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna put all those uh show notes, uh, the links in the show notes, so people can connect with you and then they can read your book and find your book and yeah, share their share their thoughts and feedback. But Christina, it's been wonderful to meet you and to hear about your memoir on Yellow Shelf.
SPEAKER_01
Thank you so much. And just to um just before we finish up, I just want to also share that this has opened some really um amazing doors for me where I've had a chance to work with charities as well and do some guest speaking and assist with, you know, uh counseling uh informal, just from lived experience with women. So I've connected with a few charities and I'm I'm loving just feeling like my daughter's legacy has created this beautiful thing for everybody. So that that's that's another thing, you know. So through my social media pages, there's all those links and you know, radio interviews and everything else that I've been privileged to to do so far, and I'm wanting to do a lot more. So, Joe thank you so much for this opportunity. It means the world to me. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00
It's it has been a delight to hear hear your uh backstory, Christina, and I'm glad we could share it. All the very best.
