Kay Underdown

In 2019 I published my first book Life Happens, Live Happy. It arose through my experience of ending up seriously ill in hospital and being diagnosed with a life-threatening cancer diagnosis, Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia. This book enabled me to share what has helped me over the years from exploring self-development, creativity and positive living. My aim was to inspire anyone to use creative and positive approaches to help overcome life challenges and increase sense of well-being.

Back in 2012, following redundancy, I joined a creative writing course that changed my life and led me to University as a very mature student to study Social Sciences. My dissertation was on sense of belonging, particularly in relation to people, place and memories. I ended up developing my own workshops based on a creativing coaching approach I call Life Story Writing. Later this was to lead to my second book, published in 2022, Writing Back to Happiness, which was a collaboration with four lovely ladies in Thanet who I met with every week for over a year prior to the pandemic. It is a potentially life-changing book with life exploration activities appearing amongst the stories and writing prompts that are shared.

I have also collaborated with Scottish artist Stewart Morrison, who I met on a road trip around the UK back in 2017, after I had graduated. We have published two art books (not yet available online), the first one - Drawn by the Sea - arose as a result of my carrying out a University visual sociology assignment at Stone Bay when texts and telephone conversations led to Stewart creating art inspired by the Thanet coast in Kent. The second one, Drawn by the Sea 2020, was based on a journey around the coast of Scotland with written contributions from Stewart's friends and one of my ladies in Thanet. Stewart and I created the book together, from a distance, during the first lockdowns of the pandemic.

I now live near the mountainous Peak District, somewhat nearer to Scotland. Whilst I miss being by the sea, my deep sense of belonging remains. I am often in awe of the beautiful countryside that is just a short distance away from my home with many new places to explore. I have a few more books in mind, including a children's story that was written not long after I moved to Thanet and is being illustrated by my daughter. As with my first book, the right time will emerge for publication.