Hello! My name is Julie, and I am the wife of a farm hand and mum of a gorgeous boy. We live on a rural property in southern-central Queensland, and I’m currently a home-schooling mum while also working part-time at the local library. We have three delightful pets- Josh’s dog Tish, my budgie Ricky, and our rambunctious cockatiel Harvey.
I started this blog nearly 10 years ago to share my story; my goal was to let others know they are never alone, and to hopefully encourage and inspire others. When I began this blog, I innocently wrote ‘I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs through life, and yet I feel as though life is only just beginning’. I could not have been more right, although that ‘fair share’ really was just the beginning.
Here is a little of my story – I have been a Christian for my entire life, yet only fully understood my realtionship with Jesus as a teenager. I have struggled for many years with crippling depression and severe anxiety. After seeking help in 2017, I was treated for depression and anxiety until mid-late 2021 when I was hospitalised for being ‘acutely suicidal’. After changes of medications, hours of telehealth conferences with various mental health specialists, and nearly two weeks in hospital, I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. But what I didn’t realise then is that it was actually a misdiagnosis. After being discharged from hospital, I found a new therapist and battled through on new medications to just try and stay alive. This went well, albeit with ups and downs, for about three years, until my therapist almost completely destroyed my life in 2024. That’s a whole story in itself, though.
It’s purely by the grace of God that He brought us through that season; the past few years truly have been a journey. In His goodness, God provided my wonderful Christian psychologist, and some intense work with her has brought me finally into an understanding of who I truly am as a person, and why my brain ticks the way it ticks. Through that working with her, I was able to mentally stabilise without medication and learn to manage what have been the underlying problems for this entire journey. God is good.
I’m working through a few things at the moment, and I also have a lot of projects on the go. Many of you who have been here before will know about my first published book, Kiya’s Journal, which is very poignant with it’s some subtle and some not-so-subtle points toward bullying, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide, all in young people. I believe that depression is our generation’s epidemic, and if we don’t do something soon, it will take more precious lives. I hope that this story will help others not feel so alone, to help someone else see signs in their loved ones, and to help someone else understand what a loved one might be going through. Remember, you are not alone.
I am also very excited to write more stories, both fiction and non-fiction, including my works in progress of a second edition of Kiya’s Journal, along with its companion book, of which the title will be revealed in due course. I look forward to you being on that journey with me.
Thank you for joining me here as we simply do life together.
Julie xo