Diksha Sundriyal
Paramount+’s thriller series, ‘Little Disasters,’ begins with a woman named Jess walking into the hospital with her infant daughter, Betsy, who is revealed to have severe head injuries. They are attended to by Liz, who is also one of Jess’ closest friends. The nature of the injuries raises many questions, and it seems Jess doesn’t have the answers. This leads Liz to call social services, which opens a can of worms that results in devastating consequences. Created by Ruth Fowler, the series delves into the themes of motherhood and friendship, presenting a heartbreakingly realistic tale. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Little Disasters is Inspired by the Author’s Personal Experiences
‘Little Disasters’ is a fictional story, adapted from the novel of the same name by Sarah Vaughan. While the characters and events in the story are fictional, Vaughan drew inspiration from several familiar elements to craft the tale of Jess and her friends. The show opens with Jess taking Betsy to the hospital, where the child’s injuries put Liz in a difficult position, forcing her to call social services on her own friend. The author revealed that her husband, who is also a doctor, once came home looking distraught. While he didn’t share the details of the case with her, he did mention that he had to make a difficult decision regarding the safety of a child. This led Vaughan to wonder what it would be like for a doctor to do that for someone they know, which led her to the complicated situation between Liz and Jess.
As we get to know more about Jess, we discover that she has intrusive thoughts about her daughter’s death. Eventually, this is found to be a result of postnatal anxiety. For Vaughan, this part of the story was deeply personal because she, too, has been through something similar. The author revealed that after she had her second child, a series of circumstances led her to a very chaotic and unstable mental space. Her pregnancy became more difficult after a complication left her unable to walk. It also led her to develop chronic pain, which persisted for three more years.
At the same time, her family had to shift about fifty miles away from their home due to her husband’s job. The long hours at work kept him away, leaving her isolated because she was separated from her support systems, such as her friends and family. The move and the pregnancy also led her to take a break from her job as a journalist at The Guardian. A mix of all these events caused her to experience postnatal anxiety, but things got worse when she started having intrusive thoughts after her child was born.
Sarah Vaughan Poured Her Own Fears and Insecurities Into Jess
Sarah Vaughan discussed her experience on The Life of Bryony podcast, stating that she wasn’t diagnosed with maternal OCD, but her work as a journalist had opened her to some pretty dark cases. These cases, especially concerning children, became the root of her worries about her own children. She would think about the cases where the children had been abducted or harmed in some way. While her husband tried to console her that it wouldn’t happen with their children, she couldn’t get it out of her mind. The concern about her children’s safety made her obsessed with always keeping them in line of her sight because she worried someone would take them. She also had the fear of dropping her newborn from the stairs and couldn’t give a bottle to her child because she became convinced that it wasn’t thoroughly sterilised.
In hindsight, Vaughan concluded that her perfectionism may have been one of the reasons that exacerbated her situation. It worked well when she was researching a story, but as a mother, it just made her spiral. After suffering through the intrusive thoughts and all the other baggage of anxiety, she eventually sought professional help. Through therapy, she was able to properly address her issues, understand what caused them, and get better. At the same time, she also decided to pour herself into her next novel, the idea of which had already germinated in her mind. Through Jess, she presented the picture of her own intrusive thoughts and how they impacted her mental health. The premise not only served as a great setup for a psychological thriller, but also gave her the chance to talk about postnatal anxiety, maternal OCD, and above all, the idea of motherhood.
The Author Reflected the Real Challenges of Motherhood Through Jess and Her Friends
Sarah Vaughan noted that women often beat themselves up for not being able to do better, comparing themselves to others, and questioning their own worth as mothers. She said that the ones gripped by anxiety, like herself, often gaslight themselves into believing they are not good enough. And through Jess and her friends’ story, she wanted to change that. To bring factual gravity to her work, she conducted thorough research by consulting with pediatricians, an obstetrician, a gastroenterologist, three social workers, and a perinatal psychiatrist. Her husband, being a doctor, was also a great help to her in presenting certain aspects of the story, particularly in the context of Liz’s job as a doctor.
The author learned as much as she could about maternal OCD to paint a better picture of what Jess goes through in the story. Because the book also features numerous police scenes, she consulted a former detective-turned-police-procedural advisor to ensure she’d gotten everything right. Through ‘Little Disasters,’ she aimed to portray realistic characters who would reflect the fact that motherhood is not the same for everyone, and that each person is struggling in their own way, yet trying their best. She hopes that Jess’ story helps people acknowledge when they need help and seek it, so they can keep themselves and their children happy and healthy.
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