About Me

I grew up in suburban Sydney and couldn’t wait to escape and discover the big wide world beyond the protective Australian shores. Flying to Athens in my late teens, I felt a visceral connection the moment I stepped off the plane and an instant desire to call Greece home. I stayed for three years learning how to survive financially and emotionally, depending on my wits and personality.

Once sparked, my sense of wanderlust never dimmed and I found myself living with my husband and small family in Los Angeles and then in France, where my third child was born on the Cote D’Azur. We lived in a sixteenth-century hilltop village, filled our baskets full of local produce at the markets and had weekend-long dinner parties where we’d dance to George Michael and the Blues Brothers.

Adventure and travel have become an integral part of my life along with the need to always push myself, mentally, emotionally, financially, and physically.

During my thirties and forties, Sydney was home, and my second husband and I created an enviable lifestyle running a thriving real estate business. I became addicted to success and convertible cars and prestigious houses and all the things that money can buy. But my life seemed to lack meaning, I was going round and round on the carousel of pretence. One day it all imploded. At 56, following the death of my beloved father and twenty-year second marriage, I gave it all up and moved to Bali to start my life anew.

Bali proved to be a panacea for my spiritual well-being. Dealing with the constant unpredictability of this exotic Asian island stripped away my need for control and slowly I learned how to be ‘me’ again after so long of being an ‘us’. Embracing Tinder, I rode the dating rollercoaster with enthusiasm and pleasure – it taught me how to be a woman, not just a mother, wife or daughter.

Growing up with ADD and dyslexia meant constant bullying at school, people didn’t understand either condition in the 1960’s, and I was often called stupid. Dyslexia has been a battle throughout my life, but how we wear our scars is what defines us and the relentless childhood teasing made me resilient and determined. Writing books has been an incredible challenge but it’s such a privilege to be able to open my heart and share my stories. My second book, Chaos and Coconuts, which will be released soon, is about my journey to self-discovery and is set against a colourful backdrop of palm-fringed beaches, tropical sunsets and ancient Balinese rituals. It is filled with cross-cultural calamities, whirlwind romances and heartache, and the way that I finally came to understand that no one will love me more than I love myself. The path to self-love has been a constant process of accepting and integrating what I learn about being a worthy, sane, contented, balanced, healthy woman capable of great love and insights and mentorship.

I have been in two long-term marriages to amazing men who shared and shaped my destiny, but the unequivocal highlight of my life is my three amazing children and now three gorgeous grandbabies. Our lives are sadly separated by my decision to live in Bali, but our hearts are not.

So, here I am, a gutsy granny who chooses, after being encouraged by proteges, to share my life with you. I vow to bravely transition into this world of social media with its harsh lens of exposure and will endeavour to do so with vulnerability, authenticity, and courage.

So enjoy the ride. You won’t be bored