Welcome to Claire's couch!

Where you can relax and meet life in the middle. Let me explain here...

Hello, and thank you for checking out my couch.

I’ll be tapping this newsletter out from my home in Vienna (home to many famous couches – although mine’s the comfy and not the Freudian kind). I’m from London (I grew up in Essex) but settled here decades ago, which makes me sound old; to be clear, I’m a proud Midlifer (a big theme in this newsletter). It’s been peaceful here today, but only because my husband isn’t working from home (anyone remember the Dom Joly mobile phone sketches? – well, I’m convinced my husband’s colleagues can hear his voice miles away without a phone). The children (not morning people) also left the house for school after failing at multiple attempts to stay home with me on the couch.

Aside from my home life, my international career spans over 25 years in:

• systemic psychological advisory, as that’s a mouthful, I’ll say coach – a label I’m wary of using, as every second person seems to be calling themselves that, qualification or not. I’ve got one, I promise; it’s heavily regulated in Austria. Being a coach doesn’t mean I’ve got life sorted or am a role model, but I’ve learnt the methods (and developed some of my own) to support others with identifying and achieving their goals,

• HR/recruiting/headhunting,

• fitness and personal training (a bit random, but it kind of fits together),

• and fiction writing – no novels published yet, but lots of short stories.

Here are some themes you’ll find in my newsletters:

• Reaching midlife and asking, “What now?”

• Career, including insights from both sides of the recruiting table.

• Love.

• Being a parent.

• Wanting to be a parent.

• Not wanting to be a parent.

• Our relationships with our parents, wider family and friends.

• How we live with our choices and the ones we want to make.

• Things life slaps us with.

Here’s what you won’t find:

• Me telling you how to live your life – because you are the expert of you. We all know how to resolve our problems, but sometimes the solutions get buried under everyday life and the demands of others and ourselves. I’m here to offer encouragement.

• Rants about fitness – it’ll get a mention, but despite (or maybe because of) having worked in a fitness centre, I’m not a lover of them; I incorporate keeping fit into my daily routine and am happy to share tips at intervals that won’t leave you breathless or screaming, “No more”.

I’m not closing anyone out, but my target group for this newsletter is midlife (when is that exactly? 🤔) and beyond. This is a key time of change for many. When I googled “midlife” I got 247,000 results and the first five pages (I gave up after that) were overwhelmingly focused on midlife crisis. Midlife doesn’t have to be synonymous with crisis – it helps to talk about everything. If anyone feels brave enough to share their thoughts or experiences in the comments, I’d love to hear from you.

I try to sprinkle humour through my writing. The intention is not to make fun of issues but to lighten them, if only for a moment. It’s not for everyone, and neither is bright pink (my signature colour for Claire’s couch); I decided to go with both and hope to attract some like-minded souls.

Below are some links to a few of my short stories published online, others can be found in print anthologies. These are fiction, but they give a sense of my style and range of writing. Enjoy 😊

• Thanks for Nothing, published at Funny Pearls, is for anyone frustrated with corporate life.

• Idle Ink published No Escape, which is about relocating and getting used to a different way of life – or not.

• Willpower appeared on National Flash Fiction Day’s Write-in and, well, it’s sort of about willpower – sort of.

• Another work-related one at Funny Pearls – Death Becomes Her.

• I was a London Independent Story Prize finalist in 2022 with I Was Planning To Stay Home And Bake Bread about those moments when we want to run away with the circus.

• Did you see? appears in

  WestWord
  and is more serious but uplifting.

I’d be honoured if you’d join me on my couch. There’s plenty of room.

And, if you like what you read, please spread the word.