Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash I attended a 4N networking meeting with a remarkable group of empowered women this morning. The speaker for the meeting was a lady who shared her story of escaping from a cult. A harrowing story of control, fear, abuse and manipulation, but ultimately strength…

How do you create a sober life? With practice! When you’ve got the habit of drinking embedded in your life, you need to create a new habit of not drinking. It needs to become your default, like brushing your teeth in the morning. And to do that, you need to…

Many people will continue to refer to themselves as alcoholics for many years after they stop drinking. I’m sure it helps them, but it doesn’t work for me. I used to lean on alcohol as a way of coping with a life that I found unbearable. Over time, alcohol became…

Setting my North Star for 2023 Do you set intentions at the start of the year? I gave up on New Year’s Resolutions a long time ago, but recently, mostly inspired by my wonderful friend Tracy Otsuka, I’ve started to adopt a ‘word of the year’. My word for 2022…

There are many things that will knock you off balance in life. Money worries, illness, family illness, bereavement, co-parenting challenges, mental health issues, traumatic events, worries about your child’s health, menopause… to name but a few. Just one of those things will upset your equilibrium… So I can maybe forgive…

She is 8 years old. She is sitting at the desk in her bedroom, with a new dream forming in her head. She has just discovered that a 9 year old girl has created a series of books that have been published by Ladybird. The Garden Gang, by Jayne Fisher. Stories about vegetables and the…

Getting still in the sounds of the sea The pebbles clatter and crash together as I stride across the beach. The vast expanse of sea is all I can see, from left to right and back again. The wind whooshes against me, almost blowing me over as I stand my…

Oh god. I don’t want to do this. Make it stop someone. Please make it stop. I’ve been trapped in this hospital for 3 days now. I do not want to be here. I don’t want her born here. I want to be able to bring her into the world…