Blog

It can so easily feel like everything is utterly out of our control – particularly when we lose someone we love, but also when we face other difficulties in our lives such as physical or mental health, relationship, finance, work or security challenges. For this reason I wanted all of the blog categories to be ‘doing’ words, as a reminder that we can still be active participants in our lives even when so much feels, or actually is, out of our power. So this is where I talk about different approaches to grieving, remembering, living, travelling, home-making and creating – and how actively participating in all of these elements of life can support us in living lives full of meaning and moments of joy – even when we feel like we may never emerge from the trenches of deep grief and pain.

A lot of the blog content comes from a place of grief, but also of reflection, inspiration, creativity and joy, as I have learned to use writing, making, travelling and a range of other tools to help me rebuild what I would consider a really ‘good life’, despite many years of grieving and mental health struggles. 

My hope is that besides helping myself by writing about my experiences which I find incredibly cathartic, perhaps these words will help someone else who is experiencing grief, depression, anxiety, isolation, or a difficult season in their life feel less alone, and like someone ‘gets it’. Or even that some of what I share might be a source of inspiration and encourage a bit more creativity and open dialogue in our everyday lives. You don’t need to have experienced loss to be here. 

If you’re interested in a specific topic, you can follow the links below to read an introduction to each area of the blog, as well as the related posts (some posts might appear in a couple of different categories). But if you want to jump to all posts together, you can click the button below.

Blog Categories

Grieving

Stories of loss and navigating grief: learning to carry a lifelong companion

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Remembering

Finding ways to remember and honour the ones we have loved and lost

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Living

Supporting our minds, bodies and spirits to go from surviving to living

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Travelling

Making memories and finding meaning and inspiration through travel

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Home-Making

Creating calm and inspiring spaces: renovating, DIY, decorating, organising

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Creating

Exploring creativity as a way to heal: crafts and projects to spark joy

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All Blog Posts

  • You do not need to be a ‘good friend’ when you’re grieving 

    You do not need to be a ‘good friend’ when you’re grieving 

    Since joining the world of bereaved parents, having already spent a few years in the world of bereaved children, I’ve found it surprising and also saddening to see how many grieving people are wracked with guilt over the fact they feel (or perhaps are being made to feel) that they aren’t being good enough friends.… Read more

  • Wardrobe zen – Marie Kondo meets IKEA PAX hack tutorial

    Wardrobe zen – Marie Kondo meets IKEA PAX hack tutorial

    In times of stress and when I need to regain a semblance of control over life, I find great comfort in organising. It’s probably my favourite activity all the time but it’s especially soothing when I’m feeling low, when my grief hits me hard enough to make brainwork impossible but leaves enough energy and motivation… Read more

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  • Cornwall – our most treasured places

    Cornwall – our most treasured places

    I would say that Cornwall bookended, and therefore was the inspiration – along with our ‘Big Adventure’ – for what was to become Travels With My Son, and so it feels only right that Cornwall is where I begin. Our son Stewie was never technically ‘with’ us in Cornwall. When we first visited he was… Read more

  • Our home – A never ending project

    Our home – A never ending project

    We bought our South East London home in early 2015 when there was a brief ‘lucky dip’ in the crazily rising prices of the exploding housing market. Set on top of and built into a very steep hill (which we reasoned was the explanation the neighbours were all so old, and wouldn’t it keep us… Read more

  • One piece at a time – the power of puzzles for healing

    One piece at a time – the power of puzzles for healing

    Jigsaw puzzles are perhaps the most perfect activity for people in the trenches of grief, and generally anybody who would like some mental and emotional respite. There was a long period around the time we were waiting to find out why Stewie had died, and after we did, where all I could manage to do… Read more

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  • Symbolic sewing – Zero Waste Dress

    Symbolic sewing – Zero Waste Dress

    This zero waste linen dress was my first creation after Stewie was born. In the three weeks between his funeral and my six week doctors check up, when I was utterly bereft and broken and the finality of everything had really hit me, I would go into his nursery and sit at my new table… Read more

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