I have just spoken out publicly about being sexually abused by James K Baxter, a famous poet and literary figure in New Zealand. It was published in a weekend journal, circulated by three major newspapers in three major cities in New Zealand a fortnight ago. I have been very pleased with wonderful responses from men
Growing older is difficult. At least that was the message communicated to me by my mother. She had a miserable time of it and that memory still remains within me. I am trying not to resist the ageing process and to honour the wise, spirited and attractive woman that I know I am. A little
Sometimes I feel embarrassed at not being sufficiently happy. The other day a friend sent me an article written by someone who described how he had attained happiness. He had some good ideas like keeping a gratitude journal every day. He spoke about how this had improved his mood. However, I also felt told off
The birth of this blog came about through a painful relationship break up with a man I believe is a narcissist. I have had some requests from readers of my blog to say more about being in a relationship with a narcissist. Now that my grief is less acute from this shattering experience, I thought
I meet so many people who say to me “I never expected my life to turn out this way”. Whether it be, they thought they would be married by 30, have everything sorted by 40, dealing with broken relationships, broken hearts, suffering from wayward children, illness or an accident and so the list goes on.
I am just an ordinary woman who longs for connection, love and warmth with another. I have been trying to not feel ashamed of this fact, in the face of meeting many single women my age who say they don’t need an intimate love relationship anymore. Sure, I can hold my hand, be a good
Three recent events in the news have made me think about having a “good old feminist rant “ One was a news story about a well-known man in the football world. This man who resides in Melbourne was having a relationship with the ex-wife of another well-known man in the footy world. The two men
A friend sent me an article the other day which impacted me very much. It was one of those restorative moments when the perfect thing comes your way. The author of the article is Kelly Brogan, a psychiatrist who specialises in women’s health. She speaks of how difficult it is to sit with emotional pain,
Last night I was having dinner with a friend and talking about sadness. I was telling her how sad I often feel in our society which is obsessed with the notion of happiness. It was a lovely experience to sit with her, talk about my sadness and not experience any pressure from her to be
I was on holiday in January 2016 in New Zealand with my family. This included my youngest granddaughter Pearl. She is six-years-old. One morning she was cuddling up to me in bed and said: “Grammy, were you a little girl once ?” “Yes,” I said. “Well,” said Pearl, “now you are old, and then later