Author of new book, Voice from the Heart: A Year of War, Jayne Wynick, talks through her journey of responsibility and hope, while finding purpose in her words.
Leeds-based Jayne Wynick has always been involved in the community and volunteering, and was involved with Leeds Jewish Housing Association (LJHA) for 15 years, five of those spent as Chair. More recently, she was a joint founder of Leeds Leads Against Antisemitism.
Jayne’s new book, Voice from the Heart: A Year of War, is a compilation of her blog posts that she started writing after the October 7th attack in 2023: “After it happened, there was a part of me that thought people needed to see what Israel is dealing with. I think, to this day, the biggest shock is that on 8th October, there were already demonstrations against Israel and very little sympathy; it just felt wrong.
“I started writing on 10th October, and one of the things that prompted me to write was the kidnapping of the two little boys, Ariel and Kfir Bibas. Ariel looked quite a lot like my grandson, so I vowed to not post any pictures of him until the boys returned home.”
People quickly appreciated Jayne’s words, finding solace and comfort in her posts: “It started fairly slowly until around November when people started to get in touch with me and share the posts, saying that I was articulating what they were feeling and thanking me for helping them not to feel so alone. It then started to snowball and my husband suggested turning the posts into a book as it’s a historical representation written in real-time, not looking back at the events.”
The book has three recurring themes running throughout it: “It’s obviously about the conflict and the hope for peace, as well as the hostage situation and not letting that go out of the public eye. But it’s also very much about the rise in antisemitism in this country and the West, how that’s affecting me personally, and how me and other people are dealing with it.”
“I saw myself change as I wrote,” Jayne reflects. “As time went on, I felt everything from hope to despair, anger, resilience, and resignation. Sometimes I found myself literally pleading with my non-Jewish friends and followers to listen to what we’re saying, stand up, and support us.
“One of the hardest things to deal with is the deafening silence from a lot of people outside of the community. Not all of them—some have been amazing! But the common feeling of fighting this alone does come through quite a lot. The book has given me a purpose and a way of dealing with how affected by it I’ve been.”
Jayne is passionate about not preaching hate, something that is reiterated throughout the book: “I preach peace for all, but how we get there, I don’t know right now. My hope has changed a little, but I still try and distinguish between people and an ideology. I don’t think our voices are hateful, just sometimes critical.
“Once you step into learning and speaking about what’s going on, it can quickly become all-encompassing, especially on social media which can be so draining. My husband and children have been good at telling me when I was getting too far in. I write first thing in the morning so that I get it out of the way and get on with my day.”
Jayne is grateful for the opportunity to turn her words into a book: “It’s a responsibility but also a privilege. I didn’t sit down to write a book, I sat down to be a voice, and the book just happened! If it’s bringing some comfort or anything else to other people, that’s another great privilege. I’m extremely proud; it was both disconcerting and thrilling at the same time to see it in print.”
Jayne is still posting regular blogs on her Facebook page, and you can get a copy of the book at Voicefromtheheartbook.com.
