Present over Perfect book club: Sea-change I ended last year with a crash. Running on adrenalin and coffee for years on end, allowing my body, mind and soul to fracture resulted in a ‘frantic and frayed’ life. I craved silence. I craved a slower, considered, quieter, soulful life. I hankered for the days before the tyranny […]
Write Around the World This time last year, my husband told me he needed something different, something that made a difference, something that would be a big adventure. ‘So I’ve been thinking about combining adventure, photography, motorbikes and philanthropy. I’d like to ride around the world raising awareness for Water for Africa. What do you […]
In the noise, we hear voices of not good enough and you’ll never do it. In the noise, we feel the tension and stress of busyness in our bodies. We’re scared that we’ll find even darker places in the silence and perhaps not be able to face ourselves, but grace is found in silence. We know our adrenalin […]
I don’t actually have a lot of problems with competition. I have the occasional twinge of jealousy, but I immediately channel it into a note, an encouraging comment on Facebook, or a text. What gets me is comparison and not measuring up. I’m not as good as that person. That effort wasn’t as good as […]
This crash had been coming a long time and my retreat wasn’t a quiet withdrawal, it was more a full-blown defeat. My inner supply of whatever it was I needed to go on was done. Someone said to me recently, ‘But you don’t work. You don’t have a job.’ I know what he meant. I […]
In the tradition of Waleed Aly from The Project, there’s Something We Need to Talk About. At the launch of my novel Amazing Grace, I decided to give a speech, an editorial if you will, about faith and sexuality. The link to the live recording is here, but some of you have asked to read […]
Why are books like Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton so popular? It’s a memoir, but it’s more a confession, an exercise in truth-telling. Glennon tells her story warts and all. We often associate confession with judgement, shame, and fear, but if we look at the Prodigal Son, his confession is a truth-telling exercise. He […]
My Confession In the hush of a Catholic church in Italy, surrounded by the light of holy candles and ancient relics, I had a moment of quiet reflection and meditation. I was looking for answers. I’d just finished writing Amazing Grace, a YA novel about a girl who questions her sexuality. In the process of […]
Many years ago, Becky was a sweet teenager in my class. When she left school, I didn’t see her, but over the years, we’ve connected over Facebook. When I read that Becky had a brain tumour and, after surgery, subsequently suffered a debilitating stroke, I was heartbroken. After a routine scan last year, it was […]
