Steph Penny's Writing

A weird thing happened today: I didn’t push myself.

This may not seem like a big deal to you, but trust me, as a recovering perfectionist, and as a person living with chronic illness, self-kindness is kinda miraculous.

I have been accustomed to pushing myself like a work horse for a long time. Probably my whole life. The jury is still out as to whether...

I want to tell you a story.

Nearly four years ago, my calico cat, Portia, died. (Her anniversary is coming up in June.) She hadn’t been well for a few weeks before her death: not eating, not ‘talking’ in her catty way, not peeing right…well, she was peeing, but not inside her litter tray, if you get my drift. The vet told me she was in renal failure. No wonder s...

My friend died a couple of weeks ago. His funeral was last week. I watched online from interstate as his friends, family and wife shared funny and heartwarming stories about his life.

He was a gifted musician, a cellist, among other things. He was the kind of musician who could organise, orchestrate and conduct entire musical events. He was instrumental (sorry n...

Here we go again: Mother’s Day. This day invariably brings up grief for the children I wanted but never had. This grief, while uncomfortable and distressing, is a natural reaction to the loss of carefully planned hopes and dreams in my life.

But how to grieve for these children?

There are many ways to grieve for our lost children. Some who have endured...