Instagram story viewer> @wailacaan> Posts
Waila Caan(@wailacaan)'s profile avatar HD Profile

Waila Caan

@wailacaan

858
followers
633
following
✍🏾 Writer & Storyteller 🍰 Cake Lover ♾️Autism Advocate
POSTS STORIES REELS
See Gobe. A story inspired by the bar and bukka culture I witnessed as a teenager growing up in Lagos. Trigger warning, there are themes of violence, sexual assault and harassment. https://www.wailacaan.com/fiction/see-gobe xXx Waila #seegobe #barculture #sexualassault #violence #wailacaan by @wailacaan
Over two decades ago, I had a random conversation with my uni flatmate that I have remembered many times over the last 4 years. She made a joke about aborting a pregnancy if she thought the child would come out 'ugly' and it sparked a more serious conversation about what we would do if we ever found out the child we were carrying had a disability. 20 year old me was so sure I would terminate the pregnancy, yet, as I live my current reality, I cannot fathom a world without my son in it. This story, "The Fear I Cradled", was inspired by that conversation. Link in bio. Let me know what you think! https://www.wailacaan.com/fiction/the-fear-i-cradled xXx Waila #wailaisback #abortion #choices #thenversusnow #disability #fiction #shortstories by @wailacaan
Folks, we are live!🎉🎉🎉 It has been one technical difficulty after another...but that website was going to be built, even if I had to do it three times over on three different platforms. Starting off with some oldies but goodies from the archives but stay tuned, lots of new stuff heading your way! xXx Waila #wailaisback #wearelive #storiesfromthearchives by @wailacaan
Almost 2 years ago, I decided to start writing about my experience of raising an autistic child. My algorithm sent me down a rabbit hole and when I started to see some of the madness that was being shared online, I checked out and stopped posting because I needed to protect my mind. There is a lot of discourse online about the increasing number of children being diagnosed with autism. Everyone has a theory and some will tell you they have the blueprint to “cure” your child. I’ve seen some even call it a “demonic possession” and tout the idea that deliverance is what is needed. The level of ignorance is staggering but more disturbingly, harmful. @readysteadyautism is the project I started and abandoned but that too, will be resurrected. My son and others like him deserve a world that understands them and makes room for them. #autismawareness #readysteadyautism #advocacy by @wailacaan
Storytelling runs in my family. I have fond memories of sitting at my grandma’s feet listening to all the diabolical things the tortoise got up to. She would line my belly with Okin biscuits (the ‘square’ one of course) and fill my mind with stories of my mother and her siblings' teenage antics. I’d be sat for hours, transported to 1960's Warri via the most melodic pidgin. My Uncle Michael, would tell me stories about his love life. It was like a live narration of a Mills & Boon novel. The secret relationship with his friend’s sister, the love of his life that he finagled from the arms of another student, the girl that lived next door to my grandma that he bamboozled with suya and cold fanta. Romance, suspense, drama...all certified best sellers! He was a student at Ekpoma university at the time (the 90s) and his many graphic stories about university life and the cult activities on campus, would rob me of sleep for days. If you know, you know. Years later, I would find myself in my dorm at Queen’s College, re-telling movies in great detail, to a captive audience of bored teenage girls. If you had the pleasure of listening to me narrate Drew Barrymore’s Ever After, you are welcome! Once upon a time I told stories via a blog. Stories about my childhood, boarding school and fictional stories about love, loss and everything in-between. Going forward, I'll primarily be telling fictional stories inspired by experiences in my orbit. If you are in my orbit, fear not. You're safe with me😉. #wailacaanreturns #storytelling #fictionwriter #comingsoon by @wailacaan
I am a storyteller. It is a gift I cannot shake and have been in conflict with for many years. The stories that had been desperate to write themselves required vulnerability and that wasn’t a tool I had in my arsenal. My experiences had taught me to wear humour and nonchalance beautifully, but those things that once protected me, became the weapons that held my storytelling hostage. I had so much to say, but lacked the courage to go where the path was taking me. Until now. #storytelling #writer #howwailagothergrooveback #iykyk by @wailacaan

Download All

Save the photos and videos currently loaded on this page.

0Photos
0Videos
Ready to download 0 / 0

Keep this tab open until your download is ready.
back to up