I am blessed to live in the Northern Rivers of NSW.  In this magical part of Australia, I spend my days focused on developing my writing skills and raising three beautiful children (well almost grown young adults now). I love good coffee and a gab with friends. I also enjoy spending time with my kids and cooking for my family (teenage boys mean lots of meals are devoured in our home!). I immigrated to Australia from the US in 1996 after meeting my husband online.  After a raft of marketing and community relations roles, I finally returned to my long-held love of writing and haven't looked back.

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​SPLIT: a life shared, living with Multiple Personality Disorder is my first full manuscript, which launched on the 16th of May this year. In it, I tell my story of living and surviving a complicated life as I navigate the triggers, twists and turns of living with Multiple Personality Disorder (see here for more about SPLIT).  Keeping me busy in the meantime is my second manuscript which details the process of adopting our three kids, and challenges the notion of generational motherhood and trauma, and breaking those cycles.  But at its heart, is the joy and wonder that my children have and continue to be to me.

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When I decided to write professionally, I surrounded myself with those in the industry who I knew would make sure that I dug deep and wrote the truth of my life.  Lee Kofman, memoirist, and encourager extraordinaire was the first person to walk with me and I am forever grateful for her mentorship in my life.  The list of authors who have nurtured me on my journey is long, but I would be remiss to not mention Al Close, for lots of coffee, thoughtful insights, and sharing his wisdom so graciously. There are so many who constantly encourage me; my gratefulness for their role in my creative development cannot be understated. Writing groups have been an important part of my growth, providing a safe place to share my story, and where I was guaranteed to receive nurturing and constructive feedback that continues to help me be a better writer. I am always looking for opportunities to improve my writing skills, and I regularly take courses through the Byron Writers Festival and several writing centers to which I belong.

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​What does it mean to live with Multiple Personality Disorder? Or, as it is referred to these days, Dissociative Identity Disorder. It’s pretty straightforward – when I was small, I experienced trauma, where the only escape I could find was to retreat into my mind.  While I hid away, someone else had to take my place.  They are my alters, and lived a life I could not survive. I’m ever grateful (most days) for that. I am a high-functioning multiple, with less than 40 alters that live in my head that rarely come out now that I am an adult.  What this means is that you would never know I was multiple unless I told you.  Instead, my tribe of alters subtly influences my life rather than taking over (the constant anxiety and need to control my environment runs deep for us). 

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