By Margot Lyttleton, Year 11
One of our new English teachers, Ms Douglas has just published her very own novel called The Sound of Waves. ‘Her novel explores themes of friendship, growth, identity, adversity, empathy, courage, prejudice and family among others.’ The novel follows the story of Benjamin, a typical thirteen-year-old Jamaican boy navigating his way through school as a deaf student. He is repeatedly being bullied for his inability to hear without the support of his hearing aid and speech delay difficulties making him more isolated from his classmates. His story is about learning to fight the inner fear to achieve personal growth despite the challenges he has to overcome
Her aspirations behind the novel
The book provides a representation of a child with special needs and creates a character which is often underrepresented in the world of Jamaican literature. Douglas’s aim through her novel was to target the Jamaican audience as there are so many stigmas surrounding any type of special needs children. Her inspiration behind the story was her ten-year-old son who as Benjamin is challenged by being deaf. She hopes that this book will help change the narrative in Jamaica and shed a new light, giving those children a different story that is not all ‘doom and gloom’. They are only human, just like everyone else. Her book breaks down the stigmas while showcasing the challenges a deaf teenage boy really goes through, and the hardships he faces as few want to be associated with him.
The significance of the title
Douglas states that the title of her novel has three underlying meanings. The first meaning is the obvious factor of what comes to mind when seeing it. The significance of the beach and the waves is the symbolism of joy, peace and happiness even in times of trouble. This metaphor is connected to the deafness of the child and the trouble he faces and yet still manages to find inner joy and peace within his life. In terms of a more literal meaning, the second thought behind the title was the characterization of the protagonist. Benjamin loves the sound of waves and when he goes to the beach and listens to the music of the waves he finds that inner peace. The final meaning is related to her vision for the novel. Douglas aspires that this novel will become a literature book in schools in Jamaica. She wants students to be able to educate themselves and make further connections with other subjects, such as learning how hearing and sound waves travel to the ear in order to hear correctly.
Her writing process
She began writing this book in the year 2020 during the heart of the pandemic. Stuck at home and not working at the time, Douglas spent all her time writing, sometimes even eight hours per day. The novel took approximately 13 months’ worth of writing time. Douglas claims she is someone who doesn’t have a specific plan for her stories, she enjoys the constant discovery and surprises. Her process of writing begins with going to a quiet space and sitting in her favourite writing chair. Once she has found her space, the characters begin talking in her head while the story just pours out of her. Once she gets into her writing mode, Douglas becomes immersed in the story. Douglas states that she has always loved writing and it is just something that feels completely natural. However, something that she learned in her writing experience is that it can become quite lonely during that process. There have been several occasions when events have occurred, but the voices of the characters kept on going. However, even if the event she was attending was important, she refused to abandon her characters and not listen to their voices. This shows how dedicated and immersed she is in her story.
Her experience at the publishing house
Douglas is someone who trusts her instincts and often doesn’t have a plan B. After doing some research on several Jamaican publishing houses she found one that seemed appealing. She sent them her manuscript and gave it her best shot. After a five long month wait, they said they were interested in publishing and decided to put the book to print. After having self-published her two children’s books on bees called ‘Bee Incredible’ and ‘Incredible Pollinator’, having her first traditionally published novel was a huge accomplishment. Although Douglas is a person who doesn’t often express her joy and remains serious and serene, she felt proud of the novel she produced.
The cover of the book
In terms of the cover, there wasn’t a specific vision for the book. Douglas’s publisher picked the cover of the book and sent in their idea which she immediately loved and approved. She fell in love with the image of the boy who perfectly represented a typical Jamaican schoolboy. Her goal with the cover was to draw the reader in and target the Jamaican market to continue to spread the positive narrative for the children of special needs, which the illustrator captured perfectly.
