Altona Meadows’ Sam Young has been living with a secret he is finally sharing.
“I never opened up about this to my friends and people close to me until a year ago,” the 31-year-old said.
“It was a big thing for me growing up, and mum and I didn’t have many conversations – we had spoken about it two months ago, but the last time we had spoken about it I was 10.”
It was then he learnt the man who had raised him wasn’t his biological father. The revelation came when his birth father was incarcerated.
Young, who records under the name Samuelson, has made a documentary,
Turn To, revealing the struggles associated with having never known his father.
“He split up with my mum when she was three months pregnant,” said Young, who will release a single coinciding with the documentary’s premiere in April.
“I thought I’d start a documentary because I think there’s a lot of people in my situation who haven’t met their dad and I think it’s something we don’t really talk about.
“I think this subject is like – I call it a hidden cancer – where not many people talk about it, but I think it’s massive worldwide.
“The documentary is about reaching out to people. I want people who are in my position to be able to talk about it and to just say that it’s OK if you don’t know your mum or your dad.”
Turn To will be screened at Yarraville’s Sun Theatre on April 6 at 7pm.
Proceeds will go to charity Cottage by the Sea for underprivileged children. Tickets are $20; email s.young200@hotmail.com
To view the documentary trailer visit: youtu.be/9Y80XRedQLc
