Amber Farnan pulls back the curtain on a lonely journey of growing up with chronic illness in her latest single, When I Get Better. Photo: Saskia Hilton Imagery.
With a fresh sound amplified by a new outlook on life, Cooktown singer Amber Farnan is closing a chapter of grief and longing with the release of her latest single, When I Get Better.
Driven by her journey of growing up with chronic illness, the 23-year-old pulled the curtain back on what can often be an incredibly isolating experience — a vulnerable decision that highlighted her maturity and talent for storytelling.
“It’s essentially written about reflecting on years spent in and out of hospital, and the realisation that parts of my adolescence weren’t just missed, but taken,” Farnan said.
“It’s written about what it means to hold onto the idea of a future version of yourself when the present feels uncertain.
“It feels great to release the song; it feels almost like closing a chapter on a period of my life, and almost like a new era of life and in my music.”
The singer-songwriter, who moved to Cairns in pursuit of a larger music scene in 2018, is quickly emerging as one of Queensland’s most exciting new voices in indie-pop since debuting in 2019.
Though she has always leaned towards authenticity and “real experiences”, Farnan said a song focused entirely on her challenges with chronic illness was something she had skirted around for years.
“It’s definitely a scary experience, and I was hesitant, but this is something I’ve felt like I’ve needed to do for a long time to heal, in a way, as songwriting and music are a great outlet for me,” she said.
“I kind of put off writing about that subject for a long time, as I wanted to do it right and get the story out the way I wanted to, not rush it.”
Throughout her journey, Farnan also found swimming to be a potent way of processing the waves of conflicting emotions a life not lived brought up, and wrote When I Get Better in the quiet calm of the underwater world.
Now, she hopes her new single will help others living with chronic illness feel less alone in their experiences.
“I do hope that other people living with chronic illness, or even other issues going on in their lives, can listen to this song and really get something from it, and feel some kind of peace and connection,” she said.
“Music has always had a huge impact on life and how I process my own emotions, and there have been some particular artists and albums that have done that for me, but I haven’t heard many specifically relating to what I was experiencing.
“It’s not something that’s spoken about much; it’s something I wished I had when I was growing up, so I’m grateful that I can create that for other people.”
