The Joys of Parenting
MARKETING and public relations specialist Carlette DeLeon stepped into uncharted waters last weekend when she launched her very first book. And while many people would have expected the founding managing director of Breakthrough Communications to write about her area of expertise (marketing), she instead chose to write about an area of her life which she started experiencing only years ago — parenting.
“I found that by sharing what was going on, it was cathartic. When I expressed myself in words it relieved me when I was stressed, and I loved to share when I was happy, so that was good too. Also, I found that when I posted them on Facebook, a lot of people responded and said ‘yea, me too!’ the new author said at the book launch at Tree House, Hope Zoo, on July 27.
While parenting books are usually black and white fine print, with bold illustrations and fun fonts being reserved for children’s books, DeLeon chose a bright and colourful theme for her debut publication to reflect her experience as a mother.
“I think the illustrations are beautiful, and I think they bring to life the whimsy that I experienced. It’s not serious,” she said. “Of course parenting is a serious thing, but you don’t have to be serious all the time — and I think both the illustrations and the words show you the lighter side of parenting.”
The launch featured readings of excerpts from the book by entertainer Craigy T and entrepreneur Dania Beckford, as well as specially created #Joys cocktails for the well-deserving parents who attended.
DeLeon, who mothers a seven-year-old son, shared that while she first felt inspired to share her parenting experience about five years ago, it was only in the last three years that she consciously decided to bring the project to fruition.
Deleon set out specifically to share her experience, as opposed to writing a parenting handbook, as she acknowledges that there is no crash course in parenting that any book can provide. She also aimed to make her book general enough to cater to extended families, as it really takes a village.
“All parents — moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, and uncles — provide nurture in special and necessary ways. The #Joys extend to all, not just moms,” she said.
#Joys of Parenting was illustrated by Keddan Savage and Patrick Meikle, and published by Blouse & Skirt Books, an imprint of indie press Blue Banyan Books. DeLeon, who jokingly referred to herself as a walking billboard, added that even she surprised herself by choosing to write about parenting instead of PR. She said, however, that it is still a possibility that she will write on PR soon.
“I would have thought that any book I wrote first would have been on PR, and I still have that put down. I guess I need to polish that off,” she smiled.
