Welcome to Life Stories — I’m so happy you found us.
(That’s me up front, faking the splits on my cousins’ swimming pool wall, circa 1970-something).
As a freelance lifestyle journalist here in the UK (for The Daily Telegraph, The Times, Elle, Vogue and others), I’ve been writing features on health and beauty, family and home for 20-something years (ever since arriving at British ELLE as a teenage intern in a homemade puffball skirt, stripy tights and with so much wet gel in my hair it crunched).
But it’s sharing stories in this space — and reading yours, too, shared in the comments — that has convinced me, more than ever, of the beauty and power in sharing our stories.
“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.”
—St Augustine of Hippo
In this little corner of Substack, I write about the intersection of faith, family and all it means to belong.
Those are the stories I love reading, and hearing about, most.
One of the ones closest to my heart is that of my journey, as an adopted daughter, to find my English first mother and Italian birth father, with the blessing of my parents (always and forever my beloved mother and father). In my twenties, it took me from the leafy suburbs of south west London to the terracotta rooftops of Tuscany, and on to a small town on the Italian riviera where my story began.
I first wrote a little about my story for British Vogue, and I’ve shared more at Life Stories (most recently at the essay linked below).
My story continues to teach me so much about motherhood, in all its miraculous forms, and the way that God can knit us together as family — both inside and outside of the womb.
I’m also working on my first book, a memoir, and promise to share updates, previews and all that exciting stuff here first (as and when family and the writing day job allow!).
Again, welcome! I so hope you’ll feel at home here.
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