Love Conquers All

She had a childhood without many of the comforts we take for granted or the safety net that a grounded home life can provide, but for Shannah Baker, the support of her beloved grandmother was something she could always count on. Here, she pays tribute to the woman who fortified her, taught her resilience, nd instilled in her the values and strength that she now inspires others with..

- Shannah Baker

It would seem as good a place as any to begin with my moment of birth, when my 20-year-old mother gave me life and my nana cut the cord. I remember mostly the parts of my life that moulded me into the person I am today. In telling my story, I don’t want it to seem as if I am putting my family life down — I tell this to inspire others and to simply show how I found my way in life when the odds seemed stacked against me.

Although I’ve heard stories about my mum being a bit of a rebel, she and my nana and granddad were close at the time of my birth, and she stayed with her parents for the first year after I was born. I’m the oldest of three. I have a brother and sister but we all have different fathers. I’m not sure how much my father was around in the early years — I have only one photo of Mum, Dad, and me together.

Most of my childhood was spent in and out of different housing, different schools, and around different people. Mum had fallen into the wrong crowd, and I remember nights we would walk the streets because it wasn’t safe to be where we were; most times I would be in filthy clothes and bare feet. Mum became a heroin addict, seriously addicted, and still is to this day. She had a boyfriend then (my sister’s father) who was a tattoo artist, and so as you can imagine, Mum is covered in ink.