This week we meet Renee, another of our Local Women Next Door, and explore the experiences that have shaped the woman, mother and writer she is today.

Renee's story takes us into writing, journaling, dance, motherhood and eventually the creation of her memoir, but what we loved was discovering that so many of the things that support her now were actually there all along.

Writing had always been a place for Renee to make sense of her world. Journaling became somewhere safe to put the things she was feeling, and eventually those words grew into something she wanted to share. We talk about what it takes to turn a deeply personal story into one that allows someone else to say, "Oh wow, that's my story too."

Renee also shares her relationship with dance, something she walked away from when it became tangled with not feeling good enough, only to return years later when it could simply be about joy.

And of course, we talk motherhood.

One of the most beautiful parts of Renee's story is recognising how her own growth has changed the way she parents. Not because hard moments no longer happen, but because she can respond differently, holding space for her children's emotions without needing to fix or make them wrong.

It's a conversation about creativity, healing, breaking patterns and trusting the things that have always felt like home.

Perhaps we don't always need to find something new.

Sometimes the path forward is about coming back to ourselves.

You can find Renee here:

Website: www.writtenbyreneelouise.com
Instagram: @writtenby.reneelouise
Purchasing Hope:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CJXHR9PZ/?bestFormat=true&k=hope+a+journey+of+self+love&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-v2_k0_1_9_de&crid=2EI0AYD1T3FOA&sprefix=hope+a+jo&th=1&psc=1

Say YES to YOU,

Nat and Mel

You can find Nat and Mel here:

https://www.instagram.com/grabyourkeysandgo/

NAT: https://www.instagram.com/shebreathesnow/

NAT: https://shebreathes.as.me/BreathingRoom

MEL: https://www.instagram.com/splashoflifephotography/

MEL: https://www.instagram.com/the_home_yogi/