is a collection of 56 essays featuring young people in Singapore, who come from various walks of life.
Apart from showcasing the diversity of young voices in Singapore, these essays also call attention to issues that matter to children, and the broader world.
By Ella Grace Fernee, 11
I came into the world on Jun. 17, 2009, surprisingly six weeks earlier than I was supposed to. Like most babies, I was screaming like a banshee (a very petite one).
Being born so early, I spent my first two weeks of life in the care of the Intensive Care Unit. I know that this may not have anything to do with me being on the spectrum but I thought I may as well mention that, as some medical experts think that premature babies are more likely to develop autism than those that don’t arrive early.
You have been arrested?
Turns out I had been trolled.
The Vigilanteh had used ShrtURL, a platform
Time magazine described as the most dangerous website in America , to create a spoof article.
I was being mistaken for a much more humorous, much more creative and much more infamous Singaporean who was now supposedly behind bars for online vigilantism.
I was not amused. I called the police.
Teh tarik-drinking Vigilanteh or Choson Exchange volunteer?
After being suitably distressed, and being reminded that I was unimportant enough for anyone to care about after a few days, the incident got me thinking about the nature of media in today’s wired world.
COMMENTARY: Society has conditioned us to celebrate a life lived when an adult passes on, but we hush a baby s death, like it s something to hide. Joan Leong, a volunteer photographer who photographs babies who die at birth, believes that photographs serve as a timeless reminder of the child.
Mothership and The Birthday Collective are in collaboration to share a selection of essays from the 2020 edition of
The Birthday Book
The Birthday Book (which you can buy here) is a collection of essays about Singapore by 55 authors from various walks of life. These essays reflect on the narratives of their lives, that define them as well as Singapore s collective future.
The Birthday Book
The Birthday Book (which you can buy here) is a collection of essays about Singapore by 52 authors from various walks of life. These essays reflect on the narratives of their lives, that define them as well as Singapore s collective future. Journeying into feeling is an essay contributed by Amanda Chong, a Cambridge and Harvard-trained lawyer. She has a strong interest in gender justice and has served on the United Nations Expert Group on the international legal definition of trafficking in persons.
Chong essay, which was written in 2017, is reproduced in full here:
By Amanda Chong
My first encounter with storytelling was through my father, who would tell me two different kinds of stories on sleepy car rides.