Hi there

Books and writing have been a part of my life for forever. I can’t even remember learning to read and write, but I know my Dad taught me well before I went to school. When I was six, I was so far ahead of the others that I used to be given a book to read on my own, sat at the back of the class like Billy No Mates. Then my headmistress, the wonderful Miss Bevan, took me under her wing (well, under her scratchy cardigan covered arm actually.) I spent so many hours in her study, reading, writing stories, and being treated to a biscuit and a glass of milk. I felt very special there. I had a challenging childhood, often chaotic and lonely and Miss Bevan gave me a place to escape. Not in her warm, musty study, but in stories. She encouraged me to read, to write, to dream, and to imagine.  Books and stories were my obsession.

 

Whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always some form of writer. A journalist, a novelist, a storyteller. But life got in the way and whilst I always kept diaries, wrote poems and stories, they remained private. I think I probably liked it that way actually. They were my secret. Just for me. The one thing that nobody could spoil or take away from me. Almost like having two lives. My life as the Sandra people saw and my life in my writing where I was me, safe and hidden. I still use my writing to make sense of my world – it’s comforting, cathartic and healing.

 

I’ve got a good few years under my belt and have had many jobs. All of which I have managed to sneak writing into in some form. Presentations, case studies, reports, press releases and as the world changed, social media copy, website content, podcast scripts. Well, except for that time when I was a notorious barmaid – and even then I used the experience as inspiration for my writing. I worked until I had my two children when I spent a few years immersed in the joy of raising them in a house full of books, stories, and fantasy.

 

Once they were grown, I went on a very personal journey of my own and ended up a life coach and trainer in the field of personal development. Whilst I never considered my work therapy, people often found it therapeutic and for around ten years I worked with people who wanted to discover their purpose and live a fulfilling and meaningful life. People who wanted answers to the big questions. Then came Covid.

 

Like many I came out of this experience changed.  What was important in my life really came into focus and after a brief existential crisis (which led to me eating more chocolate than you would really think possible) I decided I wanted to change what I do for a living. I no longer wanted to charge up and down the country delivering training sessions, but I still wanted to help people. AND I wanted to bring my love of the written word more into my life. It’s surprising what you don’t notice until you focus isn’t it? Bit by bit my coaching had already been morphing into helping people get their message out. I had increasingly been coaching and mentoring people who worked in self-development and therapy, helping with their writing. I coached, I mentored, I edited, I wrote copy (I even wrote articles, web content and podcast scripts for a sex addiction therapist in America – that was an eye opener!) But more than anything, I loved supporting those who were finding it difficult to get their message out. 

 

I understand how hard it can be when you are pretty much putting yourself out there. It’s not for the faint hearted and having someone who has got your back throughout the whole process is definitely where I shine.  So, that’s how I became That Book Woman and I’d love to be your book woman and support you on your writing journey.

 

Sandra Hughes

That Book Woman