On 25 July 2021, Painaustralia will launch my biography of a trailblazing Australian pain medicine pioneer, Breaking through the pain barrier. The extraordinary life of Dr Michael J. Cousins. You might ask what inspired me to write this book. Here’s my story. The room swirled as my eyes fluttered open. I could feel something tight […]

It was Socrates who said the unexamined life is not worth living. He preferred the death sentence to being unable to examine his life. He may even have said, ‘Writing my life story is more important to me than living.’. Many would have you believe the past should stay in the past, but the wise […]

It can be daunting trying to write your life story—sifting through a mountain of files, photos, letters and memorabilia and organising them into a coherent narrative. So overwhelming in fact that many potential memoirists procrastinate and may never end up writing their life story. If you write your life story or memoir, you will realise […]

One of the most satisfying ways you can share the lessons from your well-lived life is through writing a memoir. Today the publishing market is flooded with sensationalist and trashy memoirs of celebrities and politicians, but you want to write a meaningful memoir that touches the hearts of your readers and inspires them. Writing a […]

Do you want to write your memoir but lack the confidence to craft it yourself? Not everyone has had the time to develop their writing skills. If you have a burning desire to share your life story but don’t feel confident to write your memoir, a ghostwriter or biographer can help you put pen to […]

Looking for tips to write a book? Humans have been sitting around fires entertaining each other with stories since before we could write. We have all created and told so many tales in our life that we probably can’t remember them—or at least I can’t. One way you can capture your memories and anecdotes is […]

The beginning of a story is an essential part because it captures your readers’ imagination and keeps them reading. In my memoir writing workshops, a question participants often ask me is: ‘Where should I start my story? At my birth? An important milestone? A momentous occasion?’ If you are writing a memoir or life story, […]

World Mental Health Day on 10 October, is a national event that aims to improve community awareness and interest in mental health and wellbeing. It is particularly important this year, as COVID-19 lockdowns have left millions of people feeling isolated and depressed. Mental Health Mental Health Day, Mental Health Week and Mental Health Month (October) […]

Virginia Woolf once said, ’How does one write a biography?’ The famous writer struggled with how to write the biographies of other people as well as her own autobiography. She drafted her autobiography several times, but each version differed from its predecessor and sadly she ended her life before finishing what could have been her […]

One of the most challenging aspects of memoir writing is bringing characters to life. Taking a real-life person, getting inside them and truly knowing them. One of a life writer’s responsibilities is to reveal the gap between the mask a person wears and their secret self. But how can a life writer cut through to […]