Episode 7
Negotiations
In each episode of Series 5 you will hear the words and music of Maggie Bell, who experienced sexual, physical and emotional abuse by her brother for 17 years, from the ages of 5 to 22 years.
Sibling abuse is an often neglected aspect of incest and, like all forms of intrafamilial abuse, it carries longlasting impact on the victim-survivors. For Maggie, the prolonged severe abuse she endured resulted in Dissociative Identity Disorder or D.I.D., in which different memories, reactions and feelings were isolated into separate parts of her personality.
To hear more about DID please listen to Episode 1 and for more about Maggie’s story please listen to Episode 2. During the long years of her abuse Maggie used music as a way to escape her trauma as well as to express herself when words were not allowed.
All of the pieces you will hear in this series have been created by Maggie as part of an exploration of living with D.I.D, with different parts or groups of parts composing each piece as a way of explaining the experiences or feelings they hold. Dr Jan Ewing.
Narrator: Annette Shun Wah and Tanya Lee and Narrator: Jane Rutter
Annette Shun Wah | Freelance Writer, Director & Broadcaster
Annette Shun Wah has had an extensive career in radio, television, publishing and live performance. She’s a former Triple J announcer, presented SBS TV’s music show The Noise and cult experimental slot Eat Carpet. As an actor she was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award for her performance in Clara Law’s feature film Floating Life and her book Banquet – Ten Courses to Harmony, co-authored with Greg Aitkin, won a Bronze World Food Award. From 2011-2022 she led Contemporary Asian Australian Performance, carving out professional pathways for artists from culturally diverse backgrounds and bringing Asian Australian stories to main stages and major festivals. From 2020 2023 she was Artistic Director of Adelaide Festival Centre’s OzAsia Festival and was awarded an honorary Master of Fine Arts by NIDA in 2023. Annette serves on the board of the Sydney Theatre Company and s Chair of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.