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...
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...
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...
My eating disorder has gone to Canberra, Australia’s national capital. The eating disorder has travelled there within the pages of my diary collection, acquired by the National Library of Australia (NLA). There, the eating disorder will be open to public scrutiny. Canberra is an eight-hour road journey from where I...
My father believed in magic. He forever chased bigger and better, shouting his ideas from the rooftops so the world would look his way. My mother was, and remains, eloquent, challenging and well-spoken. In childhood, I struggled to be heard and understood because the need of both parents to be...
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...
… i got your book A Girl Called Tim out of the library and i literally read the whole thing in one day because i just couldnt put it down … it was the first book i have ever read that describes exactly how i feel … i wish that...
Writing my story and sharing it with anyone feels a bit risky and involves a certain amount of bravery. I imagine others feel the same about sharing a narrative hitherto private. Life Stories Diary seems like the perfect place to take this risk. The private Self-Paced Life Stories Course within...
Postscript: I apologise if you have received a “Demo!”newsletter – sigh, I’m still getting used to the new functionality available on this wonderful new website. Writing a memoir is rather like running a marathon. Success requires time, dedication, preparation, planning, and perseverance. Between us, I think that holding your own...
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