There are moments in life that change the direction of everything.
For me, one of those moments came after the publication of my first book, Unleashed and Liberated: My Life, Your Story.
I had spent years hiding parts of myself. Like many people, I learned how to fit in, how to be accepted and how to present the version of myself that felt safest. On the surface I was successful. I had built a career in education, raised my son and appeared to have life figured out.
Yet underneath was a woman carrying shame, fear, unanswered questions and a deep sense that parts of who I was needed to remain hidden.
When I finally chose to tell my story, something unexpected happened.
Women began reaching out to me.
Not to discuss book rankings or reviews, but to share something much more important.
Again and again I received messages saying:
“I thought it was just me.”
Those words stayed with me.
What struck me was not how different our stories were, but how similar the feelings beneath them seemed to be. Shame. Silence. Confusion. Self-doubt. Questions about intimacy, pleasure, relationships, identity and worth that many women had carried for decades without ever speaking aloud.
It became clear that my story was never really just my story.
It was one example of a much bigger conversation that desperately needed to happen.
That realisation became the catalyst for Unleashed and Liberated: Our Lives, Our Stories.
I invited more than sixty women to take part in the project. Twenty-six initially said yes. Some later discovered that revisiting their experiences was more challenging than they had anticipated and chose not to continue. Ultimately, twenty-one women found the courage to share their stories.
What followed was one of the most profound experiences of my life.
These women wrote about love, desire, intimacy, self-discovery, relationships, trauma, healing, resilience and personal freedom. Some shared stories of empowerment. Others shared stories of heartbreak. Some spoke openly under their own names while others chose anonymity.
What united them all was honesty.
Many of these stories had never been told before.
Some contributors sat for hours staring at a blank page before writing a single sentence. Others found themselves uncovering emotions they had buried for years. A few were unable to write their stories at all and instead spoke them aloud while I listened and helped shape their words into chapters they later approved themselves.
The process reminded me that storytelling is not simply about sharing experiences.
Sometimes it is about reclaiming them.
As I read the chapters arriving in my inbox, I laughed, cried, reflected and, more than once, sat in complete silence.
I saw women recognising patterns they had never previously seen.
I saw women finding compassion for younger versions of themselves.
I saw women giving voice to truths they had carried alone for far too long.
This book is not about sex.
Not really.
It is about being human.
It is about identity, belonging, self-worth, courage and the lifelong journey of finding your way back to yourself.
It is about recognising that behind many of our struggles lies a simple but powerful question:
“Is it just me?”
And perhaps most importantly, it offers an answer.
No.
It never was.
On 26 June 2026, Unleashed and Liberated: Our Lives, Our Stories will be released into the world.
My hope is that somewhere within its pages, another woman will find a sentence she has needed to hear for years.
A sentence that helps her feel seen.
A sentence that helps shame loosen its grip.
A sentence that reminds her she is not broken, not alone and never has been.
Because when we stop hiding and start telling the truth, something extraordinary happens.
We remember who we really are.
