MY STORY
A path to permission
I remember spending hours as a child navigating the bridge between my imagination and the world around me. Through drawing, writing and playing, my inner life was rich with mystery and treasures made of my own creation. All too often children are dislocated from that natural creative state by early trauma, rigid school curriculums or critical voices from the outside, that sneakily take up residence inside our heads and teach us to associate our creative pursuits with 'good' or 'bad' outcomes. Inevitably, many people begin to feel stuck creatively or label themselves as 'non creatives' or stop trying altogether.
As an adult, I enrolled in writing workshops and was hounded by endless red pens dissecting the stories I wrote. As the years went on, I was rejected multiple times from writing MAs but then had a book accepted to be published. The book was a success and still the following years brought many more rejections. I noticed that the constant hustle for ‘approval’ was draining me of my creativity, and I began to feel blocked and blah. What once had been a natural state of flow and connection, now felt as if it was dictated by all the noise around me. I was nostalgic for the creative magic of my childhood, and I began to study the psychology of creativity.
While my understanding of our creative lives broadened, so did my curiosity. I gradually felt so much more attuned to my intuition and paid closer attention to where my heart was drawn. Through all of these experiences, Write To Be You was born in 2012 with the grace filled intention of creating an assessment free community where deep listening to ourselves and others dissolves creative obstacles, nourishes healing states and offers endless permission to play on the page.
For many years now, I have seen lives slowly and gently transformed, as participants have joined me and embraced the liberation of sidestepping the yearning for approval and opened their arms to embodying authenticity and truth telling instead.
Sensitivity is my superpower
I grew up in London and Los Angeles, the youngest of three girls. I had big glasses and an even bigger imagination. My mother wrote and my father painted, so I was raised in an environment where creativity was prominent. My super power was sensitivity, but that wasn’t always easy to recognize or appreciate… it took many years to wear that cape with confidence.
I bring a wide range of experience to Write To Be You. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University and began my career as a children’s bookseller. I went on to publish a children’s picture book and after my own two children were born, I continued my studies in London, gaining an MA in Integrative Arts Psychotherapy from The Institute for the Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE). I also fulfilled my dream of writing a novel and self published Playing Along in 2013! You can read about my self-publishing journey here.
I have worked therapeutically with adults and children in schools, universities and non-profit organizations, and I’m a certified Grief Educator, with a particular interest in working with people who have experienced the loss of a beloved pet. You can read the story of my beloved Lilly and the impact of her loss here.
My mother always told me that ‘Girls Can Do Anything!’ a mantra that helped me to understand self-belief as the key to creative freedom.
Explore your creative freedom
Get in touch about one to one sessions, circles or upcoming groups and allow me to guide you on a journey to awaken your own authentic voice.