Actress Jade Byrne, creator and star of the one-woman play, Pricks, has released her debut children’s book, Daisy Donald. The 34-year-old from County Durham was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in November 1989, and the book takes on the topic in an imaginative manner. “I’ve met a lot of people with a lack of understanding about Type 1 and also learnt that it’s not their fault that they’re ignorant of what Type 1 is. It’s actually because they’ve not been taught about it,” she explains, “That’s why I made Pricks because if you’re going to teach people, you need to start from the bottom up. If you learn from a young age, then you can pass it on for generations to come.”
Daisy Donald is a 6-year-old, ginger-haired, dungaree dress-wearing child who wears a superhero cape to fight off an invisible monster – Type 1 diabetes. “I relate to this so much and hope that other Type 1s, or people with connections to it, will also be able to relate to that monster; I also hope people, in general, will pick up the book, not just those in the Type 1 community. I hope any child can learn something, or a parent can read it to their child without realising what it’s really about until they get to that part, and therefore learned something new about Type 1 diabetes and the reality of living with it.”
Author Jayde Byrne
Byrne is a celebrity ambassador for JDRF, a percentage of sales from the book goes to the charity. RRP £7.99. To buy from Etsy, CLICK HERE.
Byrne’s stage show, Pricks, was created in 2017, Pricks is Byrne’s biographical tale of life with Type 1 diabetes infused with plenty of tears and humour and is designed for everyone – not just people with diabetes. “It’s about 50/50 with regards to audience members who have a connection with Type 1 and audience members with no connection, but they all love it,” she says. “I wrote it to entertain and educate everyone, not just a niche audience, although it appeals to a niche audience, and I love to connect with Type 1’s everywhere I go.”
