Never Alone Again

In ‘Never Alone Again’ Ephameron explores, in her own very personal way, many different facets of parenthood. The inspiration for this poetic account comes from innumerable conversations with parents, as well as her own experience as a mother. Having a child marks the greatest possible change to a life and ‘Never Alone Again’ aims to illuminate not just the wonder it brings but the darker side too. Your world suddenly becomes very small, feelings of guilt lie in wait at every turn, and anxieties can begin to dominate. The range of emotions is vast.

Ephameron describes that multiplicity of emotions not in a straightforward story but as fragmented impressions in watercolour. The distilled text is pushed to the outer edges of the page, so that the reader’s eye is naturally drawn to the illustrations. Blank spaces on the page slow the rhythm of reading. You walk around, as it were, in an exhibition, where the subject is obvious, but you can interpret each picture in your own way. The watercolours and the printed text are occasionally interspersed with children’s drawings or children’s handwriting, elements that introduce the lightness and naivety that you rediscover as a parent. ‘Never Alone Again’ creates an extraordinarily intimate atmosphere and provides an intense reading experience.