Taking back control: our journeys from darkness to light

Pause Dundee is an intensive, trauma informed model of support to women who have experienced the removal of a child more than once. It supports women who want to take a pause from pregnancy to help bring positive outcomes in their lives. You can find out more about Pause online at www.pause.org.uk, Pause Dundee worked with the comics team at the University of Dundee to create a series of stories in the form of comics that reflect the experience of women in the Pause Programme. Four women agreed to share their stories which have been co-authored by an all-women and non-binary team: the four women who work with Pause Dundee, Pause Practitioners, psychotherapist Dr Barbara McKay, and seven comics creators.

The women met first with Dr Barbara McKay to determine what kind of story best fit their experience with Pause. They then met with editors and creators Dr Hailey Austin and Amy (Sid) Galloway to fit their stories into four-page comics scripts. The women were able to approve each draft of their story throughout the process and had support from Barbara and their practitioner the whole way through. Once the scripts were finalised, the women were shown various artist portfolios and were able to choose artists whose styles they wanted their stories depicted in. This informed storytelling approach, as well as working as part of a team, allowed the women to gain experience in storytelling as well as reiterate their power and influence over their own story.