- my story -

So, what do you do after a chronic disease has robbed you of six years of your life

. . . and you find yourself recently single - at twenty-four - after ending a seven year relationship with your fiancé, with no job, no tertiary qualifications . . . and an ostomy bag attached to your stomach ?

Well, there’s only one option really; you start again & go find yourself a life worth living.

But that’s not without its challenges.

preface / more than skin deep

I write my story to eradicate the stigma associated with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases by being a voice for those suffering in silence. My first book ‘more than skin deep - the silent soul shaper’ is a very raw and vulnerable account of my experience suffering with this life-changing disease. It aims to normalise the daily struggles associated with someone battling, while also addressing its cascading effects into personal relationships and toxic patterns. It both portrays the critical severity of such a disease, while also making light of the embarrassing ones.

Intertwined with this is the story of a young woman who needs to be loved but is never sure she is loveable; a woman constantly seeking exterior approval, but through self-realisation reaches the epiphany where she is able to surrender the need to control outcomes and other people’s opinions, as well as own her flaws and the glorious and unpredictable mess of life.

I hope my story will inspire and encourage us to surrender to the unexpected detours and plot twists life tends to dish out when we least imagine it, because in my experience, it’s simply a redirection to a better life.

I have written articles for Mamamia, IBD blogs & websites such as Lyfebulb and Omnigon Care Solutions, but this is my first full-length memoir.