A little bit of me, for free
Hello world! I’m Bryony, and I’m an alcoholic. I’m also a journalist, author and mental health campaigner from London. Oh, and a mum. I started writing about my experiences with OCD and depression 12 years ago, in an act of desperation, to try and find other people like me. It changed my life, and now I try as much as possible to write on the things that make me feel bad about myself… in the hope it will make others feel good about themselves.
I have been a journalist at the Telegraph for 23 years, which makes me feel very old. I have had seven books published. Five of them were Sunday Times Bestsellers, two were NUMBER ONE Sunday Times Bestsellers, and I’m breaking into a sweat as I write this because even though I am 42 I *still* feel embarrassed when I write down my achievements. But, you know, needs must…
In 2016, I founded Mental Health Mates, a peer support group that exists all over the UK. I have interviewed numerous people about their mental health, from royalty to politicians to president’s sons… to people just like you and me.
I also like to do crazy things to promote body positivity - I once ran a marathon in my underwear, to show that exercise is for ALL body types, and a year later I got 1,000 women to run through the streets of London in their bra and pants, as part of an amazing running initiative called Celebrate You. Last year I ran ten 10ks in ten days, and raised £10,000 for charity. Because why not?
I’ve set up this Substack because I wanted to create a space on the internet where I could share some of my thoughts for free, as well as a few intimate - and unedited! - conversations. I look forward to sharing more with you soon.
So excited for this, thank you Bryony! I often want to read your Telegraph columns but they’re behind a paywall. Happy 2023 ☺️
This was such an in-depth yet refreshing read. I really enjoyed it. It’s important that we focus on the goals; the dismantling of media control being one of them (one of the most important in my opinion) rather than being distracted by attempts from the tabloid media to detract from the message of Harry’s book.
A huge hope I have for Harry is that he realises that he doesn’t take this charge on alone- many high profile and every day people alike, are on this mission. He should approach it like the military - one enemy but a great army against that enemy is rising, and advancing.