About
AboutA quiet space for story, journaling, and finding your way
My Brave Sad Days is a journal-led space created to support emotional awareness, confidence, and self-understanding — especially for children and young people finding their way.
At its heart, this work is about learning to listen inward.
Journaling is used here not as a tool for fixing or improving yourself, but as a steady companion — a place to pause, notice, and make sense of what you’re carrying. Through writing, drawing, and reflection, we begin to see our own lives more clearly and learn how to stay with them, even when things feel uncertain.
About HannahI’m Hannah — an author, illustrator, and journaling mentor.
Journaling has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Over time, it became more than a habit; it became a way of understanding myself, navigating change, and staying grounded through both ordinary days and difficult seasons.
My work blends storytelling, reflective writing, and creative expression to support young people in developing a steady relationship with their inner world. I’m especially interested in the quiet courage it takes to keep going, to listen to yourself, and to trust your own pace.
I believe that every person already has an inner compass. Journaling helps you learn how to read it.
What you’ll find hereMy work here offers:
Reflective blog posts organised around story, direction, courage, endurance, and creativity
Gentle journaling approaches that can be adapted to different ages and styles
Writing that respects privacy, individuality, and emotional safety
A calm alternative to pressure-led self-help or performance-based wellbeing
Nothing here is about doing things “right.”
Everything is about paying attention.
Who this space is forMy Brave Sad Days is for:
Children and young people who feel deeply or think a lot
Parents and educators looking for thoughtful, non-intrusive support
Anyone who finds comfort in words, stories, and quiet reflection
You don’t need to be good at writing and you don’t need to know what you want to say — you just need a willingness to begin where you are.
A final noteThis space moves slowly on purpose.
It values listening inward and mindfulness.
You’re welcome to explore in your own time — one page, one thought, one small step at a time.
My StoryLike many, my life hasn’t followed a straight path.
It has been shaped by searching, adventure, mistakes, and a deep curiosity about how we find our way. Journaling has been a steady companion through it all, helping me listen inward and make sense of experience as it unfolds.
Along the way, I discovered Ayurveda — a nature-based way of understanding life that now quietly informs how I reflect, write, and guide.
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![A woman wearing a mask and glasses kneels on the floor using a drill, working on a construction project inside a room with unfinished walls and a ladder in the background.]()
Searching for My Path
As a young adult, life seemed messy and uncertain. While friends around me were finding their path, I felt like I was falling behind.
Living in London didn’t help — the pressure to keep up with everyone else just made things harder. I had no money and no stability.
Eventually, I moved back to Somerset (where I grew up) and started a plumbing and heating apprenticeship. It was an unusual choice, but it gave me direction.
Even so, I felt a dissatisfaction I couldn’t explain. I was doing all the “right” things, but it still felt like something was missing.
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![Two people, a woman and a man, are being filmed by a cameraman on a beach. They are wearing red hats and are near construction vehicles with a city skyline in the background.]()
Mistakes & Adventure
By my mid-twenties, I was back in London, qualified and working — but I had accumulated debt and was ill with stress. At rock bottom, I declared personal bankruptcy.
Surprisingly, that low point created the space for change. A few months later, I was invited to star in a property TV series in the Abu Dhabi — an adventure of a lifetime.
We filmed for three months, and afterwards I stayed longer — I simply loved the UAE.
There were a lot of highs, but even so, I couldn’t ignore the feeling something important was missing.
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Discovering Ayurveda
After nearly two years in Abu Dhabi I felt the pull to go home. But before I returned I visited Mysore, in India. It was a short trip, but one that changed everything.
India was incredible — full of energy and life. Everywhere I looked, the streets buzzed with vibrant colours, sounds, fragrances, and people.
One day, I found a book about Ayurveda, an ancient Indian medical system and science of life.
Ayurveda was completely new to me but, page by page, I realised I was finally uncovering the missing piece of my life.
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Family Life & Becoming Me
When I returned to the UK, I met my husband, and together we began our family adventure.
We were blessed with two lovely children and I’ve enjoyed creating a home alongside studying Ayurveda, creative writing and journal therapy.
Ayurveda quickly became a guide, helping me navigate the ups and downs of family life, including the strengths and challenges of neurodiversity.
As I studied and practiced Ayurveda, I also journaled and developed my creative writing. I learned more about myself than I ever expected.
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Ayurveda & Journaling
Ayurveda and journaling became two passions that grew side by side.
The more I studied Ayurveda, the more I understood mind health and the importance of processing our experiences and emotions rather than carrying them unconsciously.
Journaling had long been my way making sense of things. Putting things into words brought clarity, balance, and joy — ideas that echoed Ayurvedic understanding.
As journaling deepened alongside my studies, the pieces began to fall into place, and I saw how this way of working could support others — leading to My Brave Sad Days.
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Mountains & Everyday Life
Nowadays, life is filled with family, friends, coffee, walks, yoga, writing, and nature.
My husband is an actor, which means sometimes he’s away filming in far-off places, but most of the time we’re all together at home.
As well as writing, some of my favourite things are pancakes, nature walks, and sifting through charity shops for hidden treasures.
Whenever we can, we travel to the Alps, where I love hiking, sledging, skiing, and especially writing in the mountains, surrounded by nature.
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Intuition & Connection
I never thought of myself as a writer, but looking back, I was always writing. My shelves are full of notebooks — thoughts, feelings, travels, and adventures — a kind of mess only I can understand.
Journaling was more than jotting things down. In harder moments, it became a lifeline — a place where I could pour everything onto the page without fear of being judged.
As an adult, I’ve realised journaling connects me to something greater than me — a higher power inside, an intuition. When I write, I tap into that quiet wisdom and feel more settled about everything.
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Relevant Studies
BA Honours Degree Art & Design.
IYN Yoga Teacher Training, Harmony Yoga & Yoga TT Certificate, BWY
Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant, Vedanet, with Dr David Frawley
Ayurvedic Pulse Diagnosis I & II, with Dr Deepa Apte
Creative Writing I & II, Bath College
Writing for Children & YA, Golden Egg Academy
Introduction to Illustration, UAL
Journal Therapy Course, Certified Excellence
Ayurveda & Mental Health with Dr Vasant Lad, Ayurveda Institute
