Hi, I’m Susanne,

Why would you be interested in visiting this website?

Well, I would love it if the benefits turn out to be mutual and reciprocal. That is, I hope to gain from what you might bring and that, before long, I may be able to offer something in return.

You see, for some time, I have struggled with this writing thing. So much so that I have had to question how much I really do want to do it. But you see I do want to continue to write. It’s just there seems to be always something that gets in the way.

Perhaps you know what I mean. I can list quite a few believe me: illness, putting my energy into enough work to keep the wolf from the door, family responsibilities, my dear old cat suffering from dementia and robbing me of sleep …

As you can see, the list is endless.

But things must change and what I realise is that I, and only I, can change them.

So my plan is to try to document my efforts (and possibly lack thereof) and for you to hold me to account.

Will it work? We shall see.

In the meantime a little about me.

I am a writer. (There I have declared as much!)

I work from home as a coach and counsellor. Over the years – and that’s many years – I have worked with individuals and groups in the field of personal development, as well as creativity, both in England and in France.

I have an M.A. in Creative Writing and a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling.

I am also Granny to four little grandchildren: Eddie, Joe, Jessica and Barney.

It seems my whole life has been, and continues to be, an immensely varied journey of discovery and learning. My passion is to work alongside people to inspire them to be accepting, open, curious and creative as they re-connect with who they truly are.

I know how essential it is to believe in your Self. In order to challenge the ‘status quo’, overcome barriers, have faith in your dreams, trust in your intuition, express yourself and seek creative ways to move forward.

My Journey

My love of story began early in childhood, when my father would read bedtime stories, recite poems and sing lullabies.

Later, as a fairly introverted child, this would lead to a love of reading that continues to this day.

Luckily, my early childhood was secure offering love and nurturing. Not so in my teens, when illness fractured the family.

The first significant stage of my personal journey began in 1990. As part of my counsellor training students were required to talk at length about past issues, something I, for one, had never done before.

What I learnt was that when we try to deny our past pain, the feelings don’t go away.  Instead they take up valuable space and energy inside us, which can have a devastating affect on our life and the lives of those close to us.

Over a period of time I was able to release deep emotions that had been locked inside me for more than twenty years. I could finally begin to heal.

I recall at the time being shocked at the extent of vulnerability I felt. I was the strong, capable, coping type. Wasn’t that what everyone had told me all my life?

I was also very good at looking after others. It was a pattern I had become familiar with. Now I had to begin to learn to ‘look after’ myself, to create some balance in myself, and my life.

In 1995, I did a writers’ workshop as part of a group holiday on a Greek island. I loved being with the other people. I wrote a lot there, even more when I got back home, mostly poetry.  It seemed there was a connection between expressing deep emotion and the flow of my creativity.

In 1996, at the age of forty-eight, with my daughter’s encouragement, I took off alone to backpack round the world. She reminds me that when she left me at the airport gate I was near to tears. What was I doing? Who did I think I was, going out into the world on my own?

I travelled through South-East Asia and on to Australia, where I worked as a waitress for a few months, then on to New Zealand.  I was away for twelve months and I kept a journal of the whole trip.

That year was one of the best years of my life.  I met so many people and saw so many wonderful places. Travelling did shake up my life a little, which is what can happen when we step out into the unknown, but I see now it was another part of the journey.

In 2002, I decided to test out my prose writing, enrolled on an M.A. course and began writing a novel.  It took longer than anticipated but I finished it. That was a great feeling.

In 2005 I moved to France, in what I see as another stage of my life. I have always loved the language and I fell in love with the landscape, though it took some time to adjust to another culture.

I continued to work with people who wanted to develop and grow, just as I do now, still. Often they tell me, that one of the greatest benefits in the work we do together is that it brings an inner confidence, a belief in their essential Self, a faith that things will work out as they are meant to do.

Such clarity inevitably is reflected in their lives, bringing greater success, fulfilment and happiness.

In 2010, due to illness, I returned to U.K. where I seem now to be settled. No-one is more surprised about this than I am.

This has been my journey. Many changes, many lives.  At every stage I have found the first step is always the hardest to take. Sometimes it felt like stepping off a cliff into the void.

But deep inside I had enough faith that all would be well. And because I took those first steps and have travelled so far, I have learned to be, and to value, who I am.  I am still learning, still creating my life.

This next stage is to concentrate as much energy as I can on my writing.

If any of this touches a chord in you maybe we will connect. Who knows?