Having started out to train for the ministry, I quite by accident ended up working for a decade in catering, before redundancy pushed me into taking a degree in mental health nursing. This was an opportunity not to be missed, and I took every chance I could during this time. Over the course of two decades, I held ten different posts in mental health services, from weekend housekeeper to specialist early intervention in psychosis practitioner, and on into academia, where I taught the next set of nurses. During this time, I also completed a PhD in compulsive hoarding and wrote and delivered research methods modules for healthcare students.

Finding my way into autoethnography, I made connections into a community of researchers who brought themselves and their artistic sensibilities into their work, seeking connection with people outside of the academic bubble. I even had the chance to pursue my lifelong dream of creative writing through completing an MA. At the same time, I was diagnosed with ADHD at 48. I have now stepped away from university life to improve my own wellbeing, choosing instead to focus on writing – my major passion. I’d like to share this with others and bring these elements (writing, research, teaching, caring) together to help people find the comfort and wellbeing I have in words.

And now…well, here I am, experienced and qualified in all of these things and a novice, too. Old enough to know that we don’t know much but experienced enough to know that with the right help, a spare pair of eyes, and a decent set of tools, we can chart our position, even when we feel completely lost. We can also write new stories for ourselves, different to the ones everyone else thinks we should be living out. Words can bring us hope, ground us, and move us. I have seen this in all of my guises, even in the kitchen. I would like to help you to find your way, make your terrain clear, and write your story.