Over the last 7 years I have been contacted by all forms of media wanting articles, stories ect.
To raise public awareness of grandparents being denied contact with their grandchildren due to family breakdown you need to use any means that come your way.
I am eternally grateful to those grandparents who are prepared to put their head above the parapet ,to bare their souls and the most private feelings.
There is a process that you go through, usually an email or a call from a researcher or journalist wanting background information, it is hard and very emotional to continually go over and over this ‘living bereavement.’
There are many emails and calls that then follow, many hurdles to get through.
In all cases there has to be a balance to the stories, in other words if an article or a programme is being produced not only do they want the story of estrangement but they also want the good news stories, so grandparents who have regained contact.
Time and time again, after grandparents have opened their hearts to journalists, I then get a request for the ‘happy’ stories.
As you can imagine if and when relationships are rekindled, they are at a very fragile stage. All parties need space and time to try to rebuild trust, to look to the future not to look at the past. Having lost contact once they will not do anything that could jeopardise a very delicate situation.
All grandparents who have regained contact know that at the drop of a hat contact could be stopped, so the possibility of them sharing this with the media, is absolutely out of the question.
The reading and watching public apparently need to have a happy ending, as our stories are just too sad.
Yes, they are too sad, that is the reality for the millions of grandchildren and grandparents who are living every single day with this loss.
Every single one of us want that happy ending, not just in an article or programme,but in reality.