For forty years Jay Courtney’s professional life focused on children’s education, health and well-being. Since retiring, she has embraced ‘the beginner’s mind’, enjoying freedom to learn without preconceptions, and having fun with new ways of being. She studied for a MA in Travel and Nature Writing, and, in 2018, her article about the magical power of fog on the Faroe Islands was named the Daily Telegraph’s best ‘Just Back’ piece. Courtney has sought out other ‘juicy crones’ to inspire and inform her journey. She has spoken about her quest for understanding of the post-menopause years on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Radio London.
She finds deep pleasure in writing whilst walking in her favourite places: northwest Scotland, Orkney – in fact anywhere windswept and woolly. She seeks inspiration from dawn walks on the Malvern hills and writes while overlooking her beloved wild garden in the Forest of Dean.