Julie Goodwin has taken her memoir Your Time Starts Now on the road and is headlining this month's Write Here Festival at Lake Macquarie.
The inaugural MasterChef Australia winner, radio host, television personality and author will be "in conversation" with radio presenter Jessica Rouse at Warners Bay Theatre on Sunday, May 19.
Goodwin's candid revelations about mental illness, sexual abuse and suicide in Your Time Starts Now have thrust the Central Coast mother of three into the spotlight in recent weeks.
Goodwin had several pots on the boil following her MasterChef victory in 2009. She wrote a column for the Australian Women's Weekly, had a cooking segment on Channel 9's Today, hosted television show Home Cooked, ran a cooking school at Gosford, wrote two cookbooks and was a contestant on I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! in 2015.
In 2019 her life began to spiral. Painful memories of the sexual abuse she suffered as a child, and which led her to attempt suicide as a teenager, resurfaced. Anxiety and depression took hold and, feeling helpless and alone, Goodwin considered taking her own life.
She sought treatment at a mental health unit where she meticulously recorded her daily life in a diary to "keep anchored each day ... everything was flying apart".
Writing the memoir was "an exhausting, emotional but ultimately rewarding process", she says. And while she's not entirely comfortable with exposing the most intimate details of her life, she does appreciate the opportunity to help others by sharing her story.
"I found I could write big chunks of text but then needed to step away for a few days, or sometimes weeks, to process what I had written, make changes, and prepare for the next part of the book," Goodwin says.
"There's been moments when I've questioned the wisdom of it, certainly when the first article came out and tabloid media started doing what they do, and I realised it was out of my hands and going to be consumed and judged and spat out in whatever way other people see fit.
"I've had to come to peace with that.
"But it's out there now and I'm going to events where people come for a chat and they tell me their stories, and I tell them mine, and on the whole it's been extremely positive."
There are a lot of positives in the book, too. Goodwin's love story with husband and "love of her life" Mick, for example. It's ultimately a story of hope.
"Mental health is an ongoing process. It's not a straight line, and there's not a beginning, a middle and an end," she says.
"It will be an ongoing process for my whole life and that's OK, I know that now, and I just do the things I need to do to take care of it.
"This is the whole reason I wrote the book. I wasn't alone, but I felt I was. I couldn't see a way out. What I want with this book is for somebody to look at it and realise they can identify with even one of the things that were starting to go wrong with me.
"It might be that they think 'Oh, I'm overworked, or I can't put a smile on my face for too many days in a row, or I'm just constantly exhausted, or I need to drink before I go to sleep'. If even one of those things resonates with someone, I'd like them to examine that and maybe take some steps towards getting some help before they go too far the other way."
And other people can learn what signs to look out for, too?
"Yes, that's also true," she replies.
"I think we're doing so well with talking about mental illness now, and I think in those conversations most of us cast ourselves in the role of the helper; yes, I would reach out, of course I would be compassionate, of course I am going to ask people how they are.
"But I think far fewer of us cast ourselves in the role of needing to be helped, and that's partially because of messages we have internalised all our lives about what it means to be vulnerable, and strength versus weakness.
"What I want is for people to permit themselves to ask for help; to say 'I need a hand'. And even that can inspire someone else to do the same."
Life is busy on the book tour, but manageable. Goodwin says she has learned how to say "no".
"I'm still cooking, and doing a few festivals. I take each opportunity on its own merits, instead of a blanket 'yes' to everything. Life is a lot more measured now."
Lake Macquarie City Council arts, culture and tourism manager Jacqui Hemsley says Write Here covers a range of genres and media.
"This year's festival has a focus on personal stories, and will look at how these stories can be told through traditional print publishing, audio and performance," she says.
A mental health theme will run through some of the sessions, including What Shapes Our Lives at Toronto Library on May 18 with local authors Damien Linnane and Craig Semple.
Among the firsts for this year's festival is a stand-up comedy workshop on May 17 at Warners Bay Theatre with comedian Mandy Nolan and performance coach George Casti. Participants will develop a five-minute comedy sketch routine, which will then be performed to a live audience.
Write Here Festival runs from May 16 to 19. Go to library.lakemac.com.au for more information and a full festival program.
If you, or someone you know, are feeling overwhelmed contact Lifeline 24/7: phone 13 11 14, text 0477 13 11 14 or chat at lifeline.org.au/crisis-chat
Other Write Here Festival highlights
Stand Up For Yourself comedy workshop with Mandy Nolan and George Catsi May 16 and 17, Warners Bay Theatre. Learn how to write and perform stand-up comedy.
Songs, Stories and Soul from Family and Country - Emma Donovan and Ena Malibu May 16, Warners Bay Theatre.
Picture Book Workshop May 17, Toronto Library. With author Katrina McKelvey and illustrator Kirrili Lonergan.
Writing Your Own Story: Finding the Hero Within Workshop May 17, Toronto Library. How to use life experiences to craft your life story.
Writing the Verse Memoir Workshop May 18, Toronto Library. A hands-on workshop with award-winning poet Magdalena Ball.
Comic Writing Basics Workshop May 18, Toronto Library. Presented by Central Coast comic artist and creator Peter Wilson.
Dingo in the Dark May 18, MAP mima. Join students from St Paul's Catholic College Aboriginal dance group for a fun and interactive storytime.
Genre Hopping May 18, Toronto Library. Authors discuss and explore the rules of different genres.
The Grieve Project May 18, Toronto Library. Katherine McLean discusses The Grieve Project, an initiative of the Hunter Writers' Centre.
The Art of Comic Creation May 18, Toronto Library. Comic artists and creators Peter Wilson and Ben Mitchell discuss their creative processes and their work within the field of comic creation with Karen Beilharz.
The Rise of Audio May 18, Toronto Library. Cadance Bell and Kaz Delaney discuss new audiobook audiences.
Perfect Backdrop - Exploring Settings in Fiction May 18, Toronto Library. Lee Christine, Natalie Murray and Karen Viggers discuss their latest titles.
Voice in Crime Writing Workshop May 19, Warners Bay Theatre. Hosted by multidisciplinary writer Julie Janson.
Crime Writing - Keeping it in the Family May 19, Warners Bay Theatre. Dinuka McKenzie, Ber Carroll and Kelli Hawkins discuss their latest titles.
Compassion & Resistance May 19, Warners Bay Theatre. Julie Janson and Dr John Maynard talk about drawing on Australian and family histories in their writing.
