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

Home sweet home. The suitcase and backpack are back on their shelf; a Japanese cat magnet grins on the fridge. The weeping cherry in the front garden is bursting into blossom, and the cats—fresh from their holiday at the Cat Cave—are auditioning for extra snacks. Travel expands me, yes—and coming...

The most joyful words a parent can say are, “I’ve got my kid back.” With co-author, Professor Daniel Le Grange, I welcome the release of My Kid is Back, Second Edition. This updated and expanded book offers renewed hope, essential knowledge, and practical guidance for families supporting a young person...

When I reached 55, after 44 years under the iron grip of anorexia nervosa, something inside me shifted. For the first time, I felt emphatically that I had crossed the threshold to a “51 per cent healthy self.” That moment wasn’t a magic cure—it was the hard-won payoff of decades...

Growing old isn’t a privilege I take for granted, but it isn’t easy in today’s youth-obsessed world. When I was in my 40s, I heard, “The golden years aren’t so golden.” I vowed never to say that and, at age 69, I’ve kept that promise. This doesn’t mean, however, that...

Realising that today’s teenage girls live in a world different from mine—that I’m a complete alien to them—makes me both uneasy and shiver. It aches, too, to think that their lives began from a random point in such recent years, detached from the schemes and backstories that shaped me. So,...

This sixth and final post that June Alexander has adapted from Alykhan Asaria’s article on improving eating disorder care for underserved groups, discusses two more underserved groups – a) males and b) caregivers and loved ones – together with the conclusion. Males Male eating disorder sufferers are underserved due to their...

I’m unexpectedly underweight again. The 45-year-old me doesn’t want to expose my bare limbs to others’ eyes. This casual and comfy look I’ve long been attached to was something that emerged—and kept evolving—to protect myself from severe depression. When I started working as a novice account executive at an advertising...

I was born on January 1, 1968, with my feet turned backwards—a physical reminder of a drug that changed the course of thousands of lives. That drug was thalidomide. Thalidomide was introduced in the 1950s and early 1960s to help pregnant women with morning sickness. It was affordable, available without...

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...