Dear Diary Blog

The story behind this website began when I was 11 years’ old in 1962. Early that year, I developed an eating disorder but a gift of a diary at Christmas seemed to offer a reprieve and give me comfort and hope. Writing helped me to feel better. Words were like...

Writing about one’s life is like walking along a gravelled country road, picking up a dusty stone, and giving it a good rub to reveal the gem within. Often all that’s needed is a bit of a dust-off, a sprinkling of self-belief and encouragement, and away we go. Especially when...

When I mentor clients in memoir writing, I explain this can be a three-stage process, depending on their goal. Stage One involves writing the first version of your story for yourself. This is the time to put everything on the table. Don’t hold back. Maybe there are repressed experiences that...

An amazing depth of connection, awareness and self-discovery has evolved and blossomed through The Diary Healer blog since 2012. More than 500 first-person stories have been shared on the blog during this time. The archive of Diary Healer blogs has grown into a rich resource for anyone seeking information about...

There is something beautiful about simply existing. For a long time, I let myself forgo that; thinking of existence as something I had to earn. Or maybe it was not the fact of earning, but of proving my existence was more impactful than those around me. In my mind, it...

In February this year, I took unpaid leave from work to organize Korea’s first Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW). Afterwards, I went straight back to work, but my employer was restructuring his business. This meant I could take a month’s paid rest before starting a new job. This period felt...

Have you ever felt ready to reset your priorities? I was feeling this way and now I am excited to share details of an upcoming change with you. The Diary Healer has shared personal stories of hope and awareness about eating disorders with many readers around the world since its...

Mirrors have been part of my life since puberty, when I started getting acne and wearing makeup. Mirrors didn’t rate before then. What a wonderful time that must have been! In my early 20s, a friend suggested I get a fun house mirror that made me look thinner (I frequently...

Imagine you are very old, and you are travelling back in time, as a child, as an adult, and as a senior — Frank Upfill, octogenarian and member of June’s Writing Clan, takes us on a ride:  “How did you go at golf today?” Before I can answer, my friend Annette...

Hi Grandma, How’s your Darwin trip so far? This message from granddaughter Olivia, 13, comes when I’m in the Top End, Australia’s Northern Territory, about 4000kms from home in country Victoria. Olivia was born just prior to my memoir being published (see letter to Olivia in A Girl Called Tim)...