Aspiring Toowoomba writer Jade Reilly fought hard road to reach dreams

A Toowoomba mum has experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows when her child was diagnosed with cancer. Now, this mum is inspired after seeing the strength from her daughter to overcome obstacles. Details here.

On December 19, 2020, a Toowoomba mum was on cloud nine, getting one step closer to becoming a published author, when at 6am the following morning, her world turned into a living hell.

Jade Reilly had received word that four literary agents were interested in her “very unfinished novel” Signs of Life, when she received the call her six-year-old daughter Eve was diagnosed with Leukaemia.

Suddenly, Mrs Reilly’s writing was put on hold as the family spent the next 16 months in and out of hospitals.

“They say having a sick child is every parent’s worse nightmare, but it’s so much more devastating than I could have imagined,” she said.

“There were periods last year where she could have died.”

Now, with her daughter in remission and receiving maintenance treatment, Mrs Reilly has turned her focus back to her writing, and has been granted a scholarship to a prestigious writing program by author Fiona McIntosh.

Toowoomba writer Jade Reilly has a close relationship with her daughter Eve Symonds, 7, who is currently in remission for Leukemia.

“Writing has been a really great release for me. It was a real lifesaver,” she said.

“It genuinely was an escape and was able to take my mind somewhere else for a while.”

Mrs Reilly, who is trained as a criminologist and specialises in family violence and intimate partner homicide, has used her experiences as inspiration for her crime-fiction novel.

“I have always had a morbid fascination with crime, and I have always wanted to be a writer,” she said.

“I am more interested in how crime can affect people across generations, and that was the inspiration for the book I am writing at the moment. It's a long-term missing person’s case.”

Mrs Reilly is currently part of a Curtis Brown Creative program, where part of her manuscript will be submitted to agents, however she is also excited about the Queensland Commercial Fiction Masterclass in July with Fiona McIntosh.

“Seeing Eve go through all of this really makes you evaluate everything,” she said.

“As her mum, it’s up to me to show her that she too can achieve her crazy dreams, and it’s okay to do things for yourself as well.

“She has been so brave and resilient, always her happy self, and we are so fortunate that she has responded so well to the treatment.

“If she can do that, I can do this.”