I regret to inform you I do CrossFit now

and so does my kid!!

👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼 Hi! If you’re new to these parts, the short version is this: I’ve worked for myself for a long time, writing 15 (!) books, largely done from home. It sent me a bit doolally, being alone that much and also working within an industry that hasn’t always treated me kindly. That’s why I started writing How to Build a Life, now delivered to thousands of readers in over 80 countries. I’d been desperate to unpick why I seemingly had a dream career but life in general felt so underwhelming. I figured out that my brain likes writing but my soul needs something else, so at the start of this year - in addition to still writing my novels - I took a job in a high school mixing teaching and pastoral work. In one million ways this makes no sense at all, apart from the fact that working out of the house with teenagers is making me really very happy. I’m almost 40, a solo parent by choice, and knowing all this means you’re all caught up. WELCOME.

When my kid threw something in the bath and it hit the back wall, he did it with such force that it shocked us both. Blinking, stunned, we stared at one another, startled at his evident strength, him no doubt thinking, shit, is she about to go nuts now and me thinking ah crap, I need to get stronger myself. That was about four years ago. A strong kid deserves a strong mummy, a kid without a dad deserves a mum who can hold her own. That was my thinking. Still is. I wanna be fit and healthy for him, for as long as I can. His bitchin’ overarm reminded me of that. I gotta go work out, I decided.