Tag: health

Ep 70 The secret of work/life balance with Dr Hilton Koppe

What happens when your job results in PTSD, forcing you into unexpected retirement? You write a memoir, of course! At least, that’s what Dr Hilton Koppe did when he suddenly had to leave his practice as a rural GP. Hilton Koppe is a writer, workshop facilitator, podcaster and doctor living on Bundjalung land on the…

January 30, 2023
New Year’s Resolutions for 2023

Looking over the past few years, my relationship with resolutions has been complex. In 2019 I made an intentionally ludicrous list. In 2020, I tried for sincere resolutions, and then the pandemic happened. In 2021 I refused to make plans or goals, and 2022 wasn’t much different. I must be feeling optimistic again, because I’ve…

January 1, 2023
The top 11 most popular episodes of James and Ashley Stay at Home

What interviews most intrigued listeners this year? What episodes soared to the top of the charts? Find out here with this year’s top 11 episodes of James and Ashley Stay at Home, a podcast about writing, creativity and health.

December 19, 2022
Ep 63 How not to write a memoir with author Bronwyn Birdsall

After contracting glandular fever as a child (aka mono), Bronwyn Birdsall ended up with such bad chronic fatigue, she missed six months of school. This was at a time when there was still significant stigma surrounding the illness. Bronwyn grew up in Sydney. At age 24, she moved to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and worked…

August 29, 2022
Ep 58 When your body betrays you with author Rae Cairns

After a broken finger brought on a debilitating illness, author Rae Cairns lost two years as her doctors searched for the right treatment. A bad reaction to drugs caused her hair to fall out. When her health had stabilised enough for her to return to writing, she lost her literary agent. Undeterred, Rae self-published her…

June 27, 2022
The top 10 most popular episodes of James and Ashley Stay at Home

James and Ashley Stay at Home, the podcast I co-host with author James McKenzie Watson, is about to hit 50 episodes. We’ve been exploring writing, creativity and health since way back in June 2020, and we’ve talked to an amazing variety of guests. If you live with chronic illness or have a writing or creative…

January 17, 2022
Ep 45 Writing the book you need with Jacinta Dietrich, author of This Is Us Now

When Jacinta Dietrich’s boyfriend was diagnosed with cancer, she turned to fiction to find this new terrain explored on the page. Except she couldn’t find her story. While there were lots of narratives involving cancer, Jacinta was looking for a story that involved a young couple involved in a newer – but crucially, established –…

December 1, 2021
Ep 41 When you get it this young, you have it forever with author and editor Heather Taylor Johnson

When she was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease at age 25, one of the many things it meant for Heather was that she’d have to quit skydiving – though not until she’d injured herself trying to hold on the person she was before. Heather Taylor Johnson is a writer and editor. Born in Minnesota and now living…

October 25, 2021
Ep 33 Writing yourself back to health with Joanna Nell, GP and bestselling author

Joanna Nell worked as a GP until a 10-pin bowling accident led to her becoming a bestselling author. Now, she jokes that she works part-time as a GP and full-time as a writer. Her novels feature ‘young-at-heart characters who are not afraid to break the rules and defy society’s expectations of ageing’. In episode 33…

July 12, 2021