Speaking engagements

As a mother who lived apart from one of her children for over twenty years and having learnt from many ups and downs, now has a good relationship with her child - I am passionate about encouraging non-competitive co-parenting after family breakdown.

As a counsellor who specialises in supporting women who live apart from their children and author of the book, A Mother Apart, I have a unique, thought provoking story to tell - at a time when more women than ever before are living apart from their children.

Millions of mothers around the world live apart from their children for a whole range of reasons – some lose residency, become part-time mothers with joint residency and tragically, some lose touch altogether due to illness or Parental Alienation. Others are birth mothers who relinquish children and some suffer the trauma of having their child abducted. Whatever the nature of separation, not being a full time, hands on mum can at best be a challenging to adjustment and at worst, be experienced as devastatingly painful. Many women struggle alone with their grief, guilt, regret and the stress of battling with an ex-partner, as mothers without children are still surrounded by social stigma and stereotypes of 'abandoning', ‘selfish’ or 'unfit' mother – something fathers don’t have to deal with. As a counsellor, I have worked with women who keep their status as mother a secret to avoid being judged. That’s why I was inspired to write ’A Mother Apart’.

As a speaker I am able to

• Share my personal journey of sustaining and developing a long distance relationship with my child, against the odds – a lesson in how to hold on and let go in equal measure
  
  
• Inspire, by talking about how it is possible to deal constructively with feelings of guilt and pain, when you don’t live with your child as a full- time mum. This is an increasingly relevant topic as the trend of shared residence orders is now a common outcome after family break up.
  
  
• Stimulate thought and discussion, by talking openly about the taboo and stigma surrounding mothers living apart from their children
  
  
• Motivate others by exploring the debate of how we move on from ‘mother –carer, father-provider’, to the new playing field of shared parenting roles – a subject of importance to all women and men
  
  
• Talk about the extraordinary challenge of promoting a book of a controversial nature!