New Novel: THE FACE BEHIND THE FRONT

Coming your way!

Have you come across people who show one face on the outside and another on the inside? How do you feel when the trust you put in so-called friends has been abused? How do you feel when those whom you trusted, betray you?

What do you do when your job is on the line and when you have fallen by the wayside? What do you do when bosses, seen as “taskmasters” are unsympathetic and demanding?

How do you cope when you have to be a fulltime caregiver and have to find means to earn a decent living to provide for your loved one?

Well, this book written by Raymond Anthony Fernando is for YOU!

“The face behind the front” is the sequel to the author’s bestseller, “Loving a Schizophrenic”. As a solitary caregiver to his wife who has schizophrenia, “The face behind the front” focuses on the author’s many challenges he faces in caring for his loved ones, who include his beloved wife, Doris, mother and twin brother. The book reveals that beneath the mask of a happy face is a hidden face – a face etched with years of emotional pain, suffering and depression.

“The face behind the front” also speaks of the many people that have walked into Raymond Anthony Fernando’s life and they include his classmates, teachers, office colleagues, his friends and his church – people that showed one face on the outside and another on the inside.

If you are a caretaker for your loved ones, “The face behind the front” will inspire you to continue the difficult journey, strengthen your resolve and help you find meaning in a seemingly thankless task. This is a story of a caregiver’s emotional pain and how he overcomes tremendous odds to bring hope to the mentally ill as well as chart new directions in his life. In this book, the author-caregiver also provides useful caregiver tips in managing persons suffering from mental illness.

Look out for this space to check when the book will be out! The book is likely to cost $20.

Talk: How to turn a life experience into a book

Talk: How to turn a life experience into a book
Speaker: Raymond Anthony Fernando

Best-selling Author, Trainer, TV Actor & Motivation Speaker Raymond Anthony Fernando will share and teach the audience how to write a book based on a true-life experience. Raymond’s useful tips and experience has encouraged many budding writers to test new ground and even chart a second career in their lives.

Details are as follows:

Held at NTUC Income Centre, Level 8.
Time: 7pm to 9pm.
Date: Tuesday 3rd March 2009.
Fee: $4 per person.
Registration required.
Call 64777888 (Hotline) or call or SMS Ms Christina Wong at 97546240 with your name, mobile no and email. You can also email Christina at this email: wong2848-ntuc@yahoo.com

Besides this talk, Raymond also gives talks on how to manage mental illnesses such as Schizophrenia & depression. To-date Raymond has given more than 30 talks on these subjects at various organizations.

The Little Nyonya - Local Chinese Drama

When you are rich, even if you live on the high mountains, you will have distant relatives visiting you.
However, when you are poor, even if you live in a busy city, no one will pay any attention to you.
- Chinese Proverb -

I like the local Chinese drama, “The Little Nyonya” very much because it paints a very realistic picture of how unkind and wicked some people can be.

My wife and I have been following this series very closely. In fact, this local drama has got to be one of my all time TV shows. Jeanette Aw, Qi Yuwu, Xiang Yun, Joanne Peh and Pierre Png give sterling performances and have brought local Chinese drama to greater heights.

The script has been very well written and it is a very down-to-earth story because money, greed, acts of selfish and unkind behaviour, bullying and lust often tear families apart. One of the most heart-breaking events in this story was when Yuzhu (played by Joanne Peh) lost her sanity at the hands of her cruel husband. This strikes a cord with me.

I believe that sometimes when it comes to money, or the greed of money, there is no such thing as family. I also see in this drama that if you do wicked things, sooner or later, you will get punished.

People are sometimes driven to mental illness because of selfish, bullying jealous and callous behaviour.

These real-life incidents have shown me that my wife’s own battle with schizophrenia would not have taken a turn for the worse if family support was good from day one. Unfortunately she lived with a domineering sister who often bullied her. So my advice for people who are caught in such an environment is: “Stay away from broken people.”

I hope MediaCorp TV will continue to produce more such heartfelt real-life dramas that will touch our lives.

Love of my life

“Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.”

- Mother Teresa -

A glowing tribute to my lovely wife, Doris Lau Siew Lang

I have been married to Doris for more than 33 years and I treasure her so very much. She has been such an inspiration to me. Despite the huge challenges I face in caring for her as she copes with schizophrenia and severe arthritis, there is no other woman that can replace her in my heart. Doris is a beautiful human being and always puts me before self.

I have grown to love Doris so deeply as I witness how schizophrenia has ravaged a major part of her life. It is through my wife’s illness that I have learnt to appreciate her even more. Having seen how much the illness has tormented her life, I know only too well the sufferings of caregivers who struggle to keep their own sanity. And there are thousands out there who are suffering in silence. This is why I have become a staunch advocate for the mentally ill. For unless you travel this journey, you don’t know, and many sometimes, you don’t care.

I am indebted to Doris because it is through her illness that I can bring hope to thousands out there who lead an isolated life. Our society is still not ready to accept people with mental illness and that is why my advocating continues.

It is a sad state of affairs in Singapore that very little is being done to look into the welfare of the mentally ill and their caregivers. We have a Centre for caregivers in AWWA, but I do not see much being done for caregivers of the mentally ill. Why?

In Singapore, funds are raised for all kinds of illness, which includes cancer, heart diseases and even AIDS, but nobody has found it in their hearts to raise funds on a large scale for people with mental illness. Why?

It is through my wife’s 33-year battle with schizophrenia that I have become a successful author, motivational speaker and trainer. Many people have told me that it is because I love my wife unconditionally that God has blessed me with many talents and that includes acting on TV, venturing into songwriting and inspiring readers with my heartfelt poems.

I also ghostwrite true-life stories for people wanting to chart new directions in life. I have ghostwritten one such book for a lady who also suffers from schizophrenia. Another lady has approached me to write about her true-life experience with another mental disorder faced by a family member.

I have edited several books for authors and have made those books marketable.

Doris, you are indeed my soul and inspirational. Simply put, you are, “THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.”

Sincerely,

Raymond Anthony Fernando

The Elvis connection

In less than a week’s time, we will be celebrating Elvis Presley’s 74th anniversary. Elvis has made such an impact on so many people in the world; myself included.

As a tribute to the late King, I have composed this poem for Elvis and hope readers will enjoy reading this tribute penned straight from my heart in 2004.

The Elvis connection:
A tribute to the late Elvis Presley
(1935-1977)
Many contenders,
Many pretenders,
Many impersonators
They all want to sing,
Like the king
They seek fame,
Elvis, they want to be associated with your name
The sideburns,
The pouting lips,
The shaking hips,
Elvis, you wooed them all
And fans had a ball
Your songs that are solid gold,
Millions of records that you sold
Elvis, you gave us the magic,
You gave us the music
"Are you lonesome tonight?” "It's now or never",
" Jailhouse rock" and countless hits that makes everyone tick
Elvis, you gave us the memories
That will last for centuries
Sincerely,
Raymond Anthony Fernando
@copyrightraymondfernando2004

A Welcome Message

Dear Friends,

A very warm welcome to each and everyone one of you. Blogging gives us the opportunity to diary our innermost feelings, to speak of events and occasions that have touched us, and even periods when people hurt us.

I encourage all of you to start a blog because a blog can sometimes turn into a book- a book in which you share life’s journey. When we speak of our pain, we can heal the hurt that is buried deep inside us.

A blog can also be used to campaign for something that you strongly believe in. In my case, I set up a website to campaign for better support and welfare for the mentally ill and their caregivers, because people with mental illness have been neglected for many years. My website has to-date received strong readership- close to 5,000 have visited my website. I am encouraged by the good feedback I receive. One thing can lead to another, so from a website, I now also have a blog to further my quest to bring a better tomorrow for the mentally ill and their caregivers.

I welcome your feedback, so drop me an email if you have something to say or if you want to buy the books/CD that my wife and I produced regularly. My email address is: rafcutie@singnet.com.sg

Thank you and have a nice day!

Sincerely,

Raymond Anthony Fernando

Books by Raymond Anthony Fernando & his wife, Doris Lau Siew Lang

Bestseller
Loving a Schizophrenic - a true story of love, loyalty and courage:
Author: Raymond Anthony Fernando
Loving a Schizophrenic is a true story of my wife who has Schizophrenia. (The names have been changed to protect the characters in the story from prejudice and discrimination) A heartwarming story of the healing power of love, this book chronicles the trials and tribulations of our courtship and 30-year marriage. It also provides an insightful peek into caring for a loved one stricken with mental illness. This is the first time that a caregiver in Singapore has been written such a book.
This book cost $15.
Published in 2004. This book, which is now a bestseller, has to-date, sold more than 3,000 copies. To order a copy , please email your contact details to Raymond at his email address at rafcutie@singnet.com.sg



Bestseller
Cook with love: Author Doris Lau Siew Lang
Cook with love is a collection of 38 local dishes by housewife Doris Lau that is relatively inexpensive and fun to cook. The author believes that if you add the extra ingredient of "love", the dish will taste much better. This explains why Doris has decided to name this cookbook, Cook with love. Doris has inherited her late mother's culinary skills and that of her Eurasian mother-in-law. As a full time housewife, Doris has found time to experiment with simple and easy to prepare wholesome dishes that is suitable for those leading a hectic lifestyle as well as of those wanting to try out new dishes. Her recipes include noodles, soups, curries and sambal dishes. There is a recipe for everyone for every day of the week. As you experiment with Doris's recipes like Laksa, Assam Fish, Hor Fun, Cutlets, Salted Vegetable Soup, Ikan Bilis Sambal and her other mouth-watering dishes, you will discover that cooking like eating can be such an enjoyable experience. This book, which has sold 1000 copies in 3 months has been converted into an E-Book and costs $15.
To order a copy , please email your contact details to Raymond at his email address at rafcutie@singnet.com.sg


TELL ME A STORY, THEN I'LL GO TO BED- A collection of bedtime stories for children
Authors: Raymond Anthony Fernando & Doris Lau Siew Lang
BEST SELLER: All 550 copies of this book were completely sold out in 48 days!
To encourage the reading habit in children, Raymond Anthony Fernando and his wife, Doris Lau, the 2 (two) bestseller authors, have come up with 10 (ten) bedtime stories for children in a book entitled, “Tell me a story, then I’ll go to bed”. These stories are suitable for children between the ages of 5 to 12. The tales speaks of the love that children have for animals, the birds and their parents. Each story is matched with a beautiful drawing in full colour and a poem to encourage creative writing in our young charges. Stories like, “Leo, the big brown bear”, “Lost in the jungle”, “Two little sisters”, “The rainbow connection” and many more are bound to get children all excited as there are elements of suspense and surprises in these tales. This book, which has sold 550 copies in 48 days and comes in full colour, costs $18. This book, which has sold 550 copies in 3 months has been converted into an E-Book and costs $18.
To order a copy , please email your contact details to Raymond at his email address at rafcutie@singnet.com.sg


More details are available on my website: Click here to view:
http://www.rayofhope.per.sg/Books.htm