Yesterday I returned from a stimulating conference in Noosa, Queensland, Australia. The main themes of the inaugural interdisciplinary conference were the value of narrative in 1)promoting wellness, healing and resilience, and 2) teaching health professionals to gain more empathy and understand more about the illness experience from a patient’s perspective.

The majority of the participants were nurses or students doing a PhD in creative writing. It was inspiring to come to a conference which encouraged presenters to share their creative pieces, rather than focusing on hiding behind academic papers and jargon.

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How many of you journal on a regular basis?

I’ve been journalling for more years than I can remember, as evidenced by the mountains of journals stacked on a large shelf in my spacious home library.I’m so grateful for these journals. They are more like friends. Confidantes. I tell them my deepest darkest thoughts and feelings. I reflect on what’s going on in my life. They are my therapist, my friend and my companion.They have sustained me through many challenges in my life, including the deaths of my parents.So when the opportunity to submit a paper for Central Queensland University’s inaugural Narrative, Health and Wellbeing Research Conference came along, I promptly wrote an abstract.

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