Tag: #life-writing #mentoring #life stories #narrative healing

Recovering from an eating disorder can be a lonely experience. Even if a supportive team of professionals and loved ones is rallying around, feelings of isolation persist. Visits with therapists, dietitians and doctors are vitally important, as is the encouragement and support of family and friends, but sometimes that doesn’t...

“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.” The Uses of Sorrow, American poet, Mary Oliver (1935-2019) “Life is not fair. Don’t expect it to be.” I was sitting in the psychiatrist’s consulting suite, feeling...

I travelled by train instead of car on Christmas Day 2024. Instead of the usual two-and-a-half hour drive to the home of my children’s dad, George, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, I took the country train. On Christmas Eve, in a burst of planning, my Melbourne-based daughter and her family collected...

Family Based Treatment is the best, evidence-based approach for most children and adolescents to get their life back on track when they develop an eating disorder – particularly anorexia nervosa. But what about those of us whose eating disorders developed before Family Based Treatment (FBT) became an option? Or those...

It’s funny when we realise that we have feet in two worlds that barely speak to each other. I have one foot in the world of eating disorder (ED) research and treatment and the other in the world of literary studies. The literary people tend to assume that books must...

My name is Tiacoh Hyacinthe-Arnaud Yao Kpri Junior II. I know, it’s long … very long, actually. But it’s necessary for the rest of my story. I was born into a family with two children, and I was the eldest. Then, miraculously, my mother gave birth to twins at age...

As a life-writing mentor, I offer guidance in transforming your life experiences into a tangible memoir. You write your truth, crafting your story in your unique voice. This form of self-expression is a precious gift to yourself and your loved ones. Writing a memoir is not just a healing and...

I sat on the dense wooden palings that ran along the front of the beach. I sat without a care in the world. Just me and the universe and the video camera, a truly perfect combination. It was 1999. I was rocking a bowl-cut, baggy track pants, an oversized hoodie...

When I turned 80, I felt that my life was almost over. Deciding I needed some social connection and a new challenge, I joined June’s local community writing group. A year later, I have published my first book. Rather than stay at home and feel sorry for myself, I went...

So, you want to write your memoir? A memoir is a story about part of your life. What part do you most want to write about? Why? My memoir, A Girl Called Tim, is about my life with an eating disorder from age 11 to age 55. As I entered...