The Next Chapter by Ellie Barker Ellie Barker

The small fact that Jane Steen is named after Jane Eyre - may explain her lifelong fascination with historical fiction.

But despite this, Jane says, for many years she couldn’t find her own path.

She lived in different countries like Belgium and Chicago, she studied law and she worked in real estate in America too. Then, in her fifties she became a black belt in karate. Jane loves a challenge and nothing stopped her fighting back. (I’ll let her tell you the story.)

But then one day after she was forced to leave a job, she started to write historical novels. However, it was only when she started publishing these books herself and learning the business sides of the industry, she knew she’d found her own path.

In the discussion we discuss:


What it’s really like to live in Chicago


Why she decided to go for a black belt in karate (and does she ever use it when she gets cross?)


How Jane believes we all have our own path and it’s never too late to find it


Why studying endless courses can distract us from where we are meant to be


How a magical wave can sweep us to somewhere we’ve never dreamt of, but we have to be brave enough to take the plunge in the first place.



To learn more about Jane and her Victorian novels 'you can't put down' https://www.janesteen.com/



And to learn more about me and my books and to keep in touch (and I'd love it if you did) you can find me here: https://www.elliebarkerwrites.com/

(I’m going to make a small bet - you’ve never met anyone quite like Angela.)

Angela started off her career in the rag trade. She learned from the best and she had a wonderful time in fashion in Fulham in the 80s, living a wonderful life. But then she started to think she wanted to make a change . Deep-down Angela wanted to design gardens. She’d talk about it, tell her friends about it, but never actually did it – but then one of these friends gave her a moment of tough love (which was brilliant… Angela will explain) and everything changed.

Angela created a second career not only designing gardens but growing flowers too. She returned to her beloved West Country and created a new home.

But then a bombshell happened - after 30 years of marriage – Angela and her husband divorced and she found herself having to start all over again.

I’m going to warn you, this is a ‘colourful’ conversation - i.e there's lots of swearing if you’re listening in front of children. But this is why I love Angela so much - Angela is Angela.

In this episode we discuss:


How she left the rag trade and became a garden designer


The importance of knowing our worth - and how she does this


The pain of a 30 year marriage ending (and a brave truth she shares with us) but how she moved through it.


What it’s really like to start all over again after all that time


How a group of girlfriends - and her donkeys helped save her


What it takes to be a real-life Badass and what you can do to be the same



Angela believes life is simply too short not to be honest with ourselves. Be ready as she gives some tough love too. But Angela believes everything is doable - that all of us are capable of living a life we truly love and which is deep-down true to us. 



To learn more about Angela you can find her at: https://flowerfusions.com/about-us/

The book we both love is : https://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Are-Badass-Doubting-Greatness/dp/0762447699

And you can  find me - my weekly-ish notes and my books (which I hope you'll also love) here: https://www.elliebarkerwrites.com/

Firstly, thank you, thank you for all your brilliant questions - with a capital B. We covered such a lot and not what I expected at all. And if you didn’t ask a question, fear not as I think we covered a lot which will help you too. In this episode Claire tackles:


What do we do when we don’t have enough time?


How do we carry on when we keep getting setbacks?


Why are our knees and joints starting to ache and what can we do about it?


How do we fit exercise in when we’ve already got too much on?


How do we stop social media taking over our lives and how dangerous is it really?



…And this is just the start. Claire gives some tough answers and real-life examples of work she’s been doing with her clients and she gives some very practical advice on how we can make small changes which will make a big difference. 

You can find Claire and all her work as a midlife mentor at: https://themidlifementors.com/



And you can find out all about my fiction therapy books at elliebarkerwrites.com

Claire Davis is one half of the Midlife Mentors – the other is her husband James. They are multi-award winning coaches who’ve helped thousands of people have a complete reset, midlife. Whether it’s weight, fitness, career, relationships, self-esteem or all of these and more,  Claire and James want to help us all thrive.

They’ve worked with celebrities like Melanie Sykes and Ashley Roberts. They run one of Europe’s most successful luxury fitness retreat companies, and they have their own podcast, The Midlife Mentors. On top of all this, their work has also been highlighted in all different national newspapers and magazines.

The reason I’m replaying the episode is – for the first time we’re going to do a Next Chapter Deep Dive with Claire. I am beyond excited/thrilled she’s coming back on the podcast. Claire was one of the very first supporters of the Next Chapter and I can’t wait to speak to her again. (I thought I’d share the episode which is her own Next Chapter story and you can see/remember how refreshingly honest she is.)

But now we want to talk about - well, you. What are the questions you have for Claire and how can she help? Are you:


Still pondering a Next Chapter but have no idea where to begin?


Would you like to lose some stubborn pounds for the summer months, but can’t stop reaching for the biscuit tin?


Do you a constant stream of negative thinking which you know is holding you back?


Are you struggling to organise your time or find the time to do what you really want?


Are you feeling burnt out and exhausted, like you’re trying everything but not getting far?


Are you totally confused by what you should or should not eat, drink, do or simply just be with all the conflicting advice ?



(…Or is this all just me too?)

The point is, we’d love to hear from you. I’m recording the Deep Dive next Tuesday 2nd July, so please message with your questions. I don’t have to say your name on the podcast and you can just reply to this email or message me on Instagram (@elliebarkerwrites) or email (ellie@elliebarkerwrites.com)

When Sarah received a lower grade at A level – she describes it now as a ‘brilliant thing.’ It was thanks to this she studied PR instead of English at university and it opened up a whole world she loved. It’s taken her to Harrods and other big brands in the UK and then all the way to Hong Kong, when a trip to visit friends ended up in a 7 year stay and her own business.

When she returned to England and to Bristol as a single mum, she didn’t think she’d be able to carry on with the world of PR, but how wrong she was. A coach asked her one question which changed the whole way she was looking at life, then she stumbled upon a little PR agency on a back street and her world changed again.

Sarah is funny, modest and gives a wonderful insight into life in Hong Kong. She talks about the importance of mentors and she gives some brilliant advice at the end. (I’ve been using all her tips ever since!) But Sarah’s story is a story of women helping women. She shows it really is possible to create a life you love, even if it takes you in all different directions you hadn’t planned.

Sam has always loved both Sport and psychology. It’s his passion to bring the best out of everyone he works with – and where better to test psychology, he says, than in sport? Because if it fails - well, the results are clear.

Since he made a phone call to Colchester United after leaving university – he’s worked with all different footballers over the years, he even wrote a book and Cristiano Ronaldo wrote the foreword… (I know!)

Today he works with the first team at Wrexham United – yes, that one – the club owned by Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and also the subject of the Disney+ documentary, Welcome to Wrexham.

But Sam has also created the programmes for our charitable partner, the boxing charity, Empire Fighting Chance. He works with young people who are struggling and is helping to transform so many lives.



He says he uses exactly the same methods with a young person in trouble at school as he does with a first team footballer at Wrexham. But Sam’s method is different to what I’ve ever come across (and I’ve been researching mental health for years). We discussed so much in this conversation including…


The best way, he believes, we can encourage our children


How, when it comes to our own mental health, he believes we’re getting it wrong.


The real reason we’re struggling to move forward with our Next Chapters


What it’s really like to have a Hollywood superstar as your boss.



I know I’m biased, but I found this conversation fascinating and I cannot recommend it enough for you, your family or for anyone around you. Sam’s is a different approach. It’s brought great results for world-famous football teams, it’s changed lives at Empire and now I’m really hoping it will help you too.



To learn more about Sam you can find him at: https://samkotadia.com/

To learn more about our charitable partners Empire Fighting Chance you can find them here: https://empirefightingchance.org/



And my books which are 'fiction therapy' as they feature a therapist in everyone are just here: https://www.elliebarkerwrites.com/