I love reading and writing stories about love… but I’m no expert in love.

For most of my life, love felt like something to earn. Most of my life was spent chasing love in all its forms: romantically, in friendships, and with family.

I aimed to be the ‘best’ I could be - the best lover, sister, daughter, friend, employee, that I could be. I poured my whole heart and soul into my relationships.

And ended up with a chronic illness that changed everything … and everything fell apart.

It made me confront why I was in so many unloving relationships. What my childhood had taught me about how to love and how to be loved.

And so, I started asking a different question:

“What if I don’t actually know what love is? What if I don’t know how to receive love in healthy ways or love others in healthy ways?”

That question changed everything.

Reading “All About Love: New Visions” by bell hooks was the key to transformation. It changed the books that I read and the books I wanted to write

My writing is inspired by:

• An ethic of love - how love is more than words, it’s a series of ingredients that include respect, care, commitment, trust, responsibility, and knowledge.

• Connection to Country and being in a relationship to nature - particularly inspired by Aboriginal Australian teachings.

• Feminism, diversity and inclusion - exploring power dynamics, belonging, and challenging my unconscious biases.