Category: Mentor

The Diary Healer has transitioned to this new site with a new aim and a new name. Building on The Diary Healer’s accomplishments, lifestoriesdiary.com is here to encourage story-sharing and help you write your story. Are you one of the many people who say, ‘I will write my story one...

As I ‘came out’ and began to share my story publicly through my memoir, A Girl Called Tim (2011), an amazing thing happened. Shame, stigma, and secrets that had been the bane of my life for decades, were quelled. Rather than remain quiet, my diaries ‘came out’ too. For instance,...

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...

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...

Regina Meyer When I finished the first draft of my manuscript, I felt chuffed and excited. ‘My book is just around the corner,’ I thought, swept up in my initial euphoria. Of course, I had heard reports of accomplished authors who had submitted their work to countless publishers before succeeding...

Tanya Motiani It was a cold, misty morning when Sparrow emerged from his egg. The air twitched with Fog as a diluted sun tried hastily to make its ascent beyond the clouds. For weeks Sparrow had been protected by the shell of his little egg, snug beneath Mother Bird’s feathers....

Frank Upfill It was sunny and warm as I boarded The Ghan train from Adelaide Railway Terminus. The year was 1969 and I was ready for an adventure. My cousin and his wife saw me off and waved as the train slowly moved off towards Alice Springs and the Red...

By Karyn Baltestch It’s all perfectly clear now. Through the fog, the hail stones, the wind and the rain. I can see clearly what l need to do. I can see the crossroads are not just saying one way.  How did this come about after weeks of confusion and turmoil...

DE: What is Anorexia calling out to you at the moment, Helen? What is it saying to you as you struggle towards the Anti-Anorexic side? What is it calling out to you? HW: Punish yourself! Starve yourself! Writing was both a survival tool and a recovery tool during my incarceration...