Heal – Laugh – Live

Never let anyone or anything keep you from your dreams

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Clare L Campbell is a published author, writer, and advocate with decades of experience working across government, policy, and community services. Her professional expertise sits alongside a deeply personal journey that includes surviving domestic violence, navigating serious health challenges, rebuilding after trauma, and rediscovering herself as a woman, mother, and partner and then soon to be divorcee in midlife.
Her writing blends warmth, humour, and historical context with a trauma-informed lens, allowing her to speak to complex issues in ways that are deeply relatable and accessible. Clare brings an authentic voice to the page – one that acknowledges life’s hardest truths while pointing toward resilience, healing, and hope.
This is not her first book. But this memoir/self help guide is written for midlife women facing the challenges that this period brings and supports and guides the reader through the journey of learning the art of ‘Putting Me First’.
‘Putting Me First – The Reckoning, The Reconciling and Rebirthing will also resonate with readers who enjoy memoirs that offer both honesty and uplift. It bridges self-help and memoir, offering practical strategies without sacrificing story, warmth, or humour.
We are in the middle of a cultural shift. Women are no longer willing to disappear quietly as they reach midlife. Conversations about perimenopause, menopause, mental health, trauma, and the reinvention of self are gaining momentum, but there is still a gap for books that combine lived experience with compassion, insight, and practical tools.
Putting Me First fills that space. It acknowledges the pain, the exhaustion, and the invisible labour carried by so many women, while providing hope, laughter, and strategies for beginning again. It is timely, necessary, and deeply human.
Written with warmth, humour, and a trauma-informed lens, the book blends personal narrative with psychological insight, cultural context, and practical reflection exercises. It speaks directly to women in their thirties, forties, fifties and beyond who are ready to stop living as an afterthought in their own lives and start putting themselves first as they navigate, empty nest, lost love, perimenopause, menopause and the promise that they could have it all was hollow and left an entire generation of women feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied.
At its heart, the book is about resilience and renewal. It acknowledges the chaos and pain of lived experience, while celebrating the possibility of rebirth – of living boldly and unapologetically in midlife and beyond.

The future awaits…

New Dawn, New Day

I managed to stay awake for my first day after arriving, although it was a very early night that followed. 

But I achieved some key things that afternoon that I needed to get off my to do list as part of the settling in process.

After a good nights sleep, (note to self, buy ear plugs. Central location brilliant, related night time noise not so much.) 

Heading out today to play tourist, starting with a good English breakfast to start the process of getting my weight up from its current 47kgs to a slightly healthier number.

All part of the rebuilding process, physically, mentally and emotionally.

And now after a full on day those steps are well and truly up and other to do list items taken care of.

The weather was once again wet and cold, with snow on the way in the coming days so glad I packed the ‘extra’ heat thermals!

A few more ‘to do’s’ taken care of in the morning (ear plugs purchased as a priority) and then heading to a meditation class tomorrow at lunchtime. 

Really looking forward to meeting some new people and hopefully creating some connections.

The local pub had some fantastic music playing last night which I enjoyed from the comfort and warmth of my bed.

And although I don’t drink anymore, if I can bring myself to brave the cold and have fully overcome the jet lag I might even head down for a lemon, lime & bitters and some tunes on Friday night and hope that the Aussie accent acts as a drawcard and the inappropriate and obvious age gap, which will no doubt be inevitable, will be a mute point in my ability to meet some new faces and get to know some of the locals.

I love the Celtic music and missed so many opportunities during our trip last year to enjoy it because my ex-husband hated noisy environments, so this will be a very welcome new experience after appeasing him and his preferences for 25 years. 

Another opportunity for ‘Putting Me First’ and living life on my terms!

Love Clare

Xoxo

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