Interview with Suzy Walker

This week, am delighted to be sharing wisdom and inspiration from the fantabulous Suzy Walker, former Psychologies Editor and creator of the Heart Leap Substack...

I recently told Suzy that I was so scared about contacting her, before I knew how lovely she is, about a possible endorsement for my book back in 2016 that I emailed Oprah (yup, Oprah Winfrey) to help me become brave enough to take the leap and email Suzy.

Since then, I've been fortunate to get to know her better and she truly is an inspiration and delight. So generous and encouraging.

You've made some huge leaps re the boat and the van and now your new hometown. What inspired the big lifestyle changes?

My son Charlie was 16 and not very academic and felt very disgruntled at school and came home one day telling me he knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

It caught my attention!

He’d found this amazing 6^th form called The London Screen Academy, started by the James Bond people who wanted to teach kids film making skills.

It was free but in London and we lived in Sussex, so it was going to be a 4-hour daily commute.

I came up with the mad idea of buying a canal boat with my life savings and mooring up in Kings Cross, so he’d have a 5-minute commute.

We ended up living in a 45-foot canal boat for 18 months – through the pandemic and beyond. After the pandemic, my contract at Psychologies came to an end so I sold the boat and bought a camper van, dropped Charlie off at university and travelled the UK in a campervan for 6 months with my boyfriend.

I didn’t really enjoy the camper van experience. I found it lonely. I realised that connection is so important to me, so I ended up on the wild Northumberland coast and settled in a beautiful town of Alnwick with a fairy-tale castle.

What have been the biggest challenges?

Emptying our own toilet! With boat living this was the job I hated the most. When I moved on to the canal boat, I didn’t understand about the toilet situation –  it’s like a giant potty that you have to empty yourself. The first time I did it,  I ended up sprayed in a fine layer of wee and poo! At that point, I thought ‘I can’t do this!’

Gaggghhhh!

In the winter, it was really cold on the boat - we had an aga but trying to keep it alight was the bane of my life. But it was very usual to wake up to frost on the inside of the windows.

And highlights?

Living on the boat gave Charlie and I a shared project just when puberty hit, and he was feeling a little lost and he was rejecting any help from me.

But going to the film school gave him this new sense of purpose – he loved it whereas he’d never loved school.

It made my heart leap to see him finding his passion.

Living on the boat was very challenging and learning how to motor it was a constant battle, but we became fellow adventurers.

Charlie saw his capable mum not knowing what to do or how to fix things and he had to step up – so instead of arguing, we created this new relationship and respect for each other.

We became friends.

Aww. Lovely! Have you always taken big leaps and heart leaps, or have you had to coach yourself?

My parents died of cancer when I was young, and this made me realise that life is short, and I’ve always lived life to its edges.

Courage is an important value for me, so I always choose to be brave – I think that’s where the growth happens.  

Would Teenage You be proud of you and would she have expected it / been surprised by all you've done and are doing?

Teenage me was a mess.

I was grieving, sad, drinking far too much. I think the teenage me just wanted a sense of safety and normality.

But it was probably then I learnt that I could be out of my comfort zone and still survive and thrive and that has served me well. I am comfortable when I’m out of my comfort zone if that makes sense.

What do you wish you'd known earlier?

I wish I had known that the world can be a kind place and people will help and support you, if only you’d ask.

What advice do you have for others considering big changes (location, type of home, work etc - you really HAVE done so much)?

First of all, listen to your heart and allow yourself to explore anything that comes up.

Get curious about why you think you want to move to Bali/learn Russian/retrain as a teacher.

Ask yourself – what you think moving to Bali/learning Russian/retraining as a teacher will get you? More simplicity? Adventure? Connection?

Notice what grabs your interest, what makes your heart leap (and also what you find yourself envying). So, write a list and then see if there are any connections.

What are you really craving? Adventure? Connection? Creativity? Inspiration? Identify what your values are. Write a list of your ‘golden glow’ moments – moments where time disappears, what you naturally do when no one is watching – do those activities have anything in common? Without making any big leaps – ask yourself – what can you do right now to live a more value-based life?

Other great questions to ask –

1. If I wasn’t scared, what would I do next? 

2. Who do I love and how can I spend more quality time with them?

3. What are three baby steps that I can take this week to explore my ‘big leap life’?

Thank you. I was so discombobulated during my 3 moves in 5 months but you're also writing a memoir, created an amazing supportive online space for writers and cofounded a literary festival! How do you find the energy and headspace?

All of these things are based on my values of creativity, connection, inspiration, fun and freedom so I love doing all of them.

I struggle most when I am not connected to my values.

When I was driving round in a campervan, having small talk with strangers, not writing or working, I felt miserable and lost (even though I was travelling round with my boyfriend).

Yes, I had freedom but being part of a community, co-creating things, communicating about things that matter, building new ventures – this makes me so happy.

The biggest low was when I split up with my boyfriend. We’d been travelling together in the campervan and all we’d done is argue but optimistic as ever, I bought a house with him in Alnwick (I thought it was just travelling in the van that was making us row) but it wasn’t.

We wanted different things. We split up and we had to sell the house and that was a real low point.

I did question everything at that point – I didn’t have many friends in Alnwick, I was missing my son like mad, I had no work, I had to sell the house I loved, I was heartbroken.

One night in desperation – it was a dreadfully cold, rainy night -  I went to a book launch in Alnwick at the new book shop and met a local author and she invited me to her party at the pub next door and I got talking to the mayor of Alnwick and told her that she should create a book festival and she said: ‘No, you should.’

So that got me all fired up and I gathered a group of people together and a year later, we launched the festival and that ticked all my boxes – creativity, inspiration, connection and fun.

But it was born out of a completely miserable moment!

I love that! Not that you were miserable but that you let yourself feel it and leap. If I hadn't thrown myself a full on pity party sobbing for hours at the Brexit vote, I wouldn't be living in heaven (Ireland) now.

Were you writing on the boat and in the van?

I was writing on the boat, but it was very difficult to write in the van – there was literally no space at all. I was with my boyfriend (now ex!) 24/7.

But in the boat, I had a plank of wood that I made into a desk in the wheelhouse.

I ran the magazine from there and wrote a draft of my memoir there. The boat was a beautiful, little space – gorgeous in summer. It had a sunroof that you could open.

Wow. What helped you stay grounded and to make each space a home?

Even though we were moored in Central London, I never felt closer to nature than when we were on the boat.

The moorhens would shriek you awake every morning, the Peaky Blinders geese would hold you to ransom for bread every time you wanted to walk down the gang plank, herons would land on your boat and fish from there.

Obviously, we were floating on the water, so you felt literally connected to the flow of life. It was a daily inspiration for me.

I found it much more difficult in the van. You were always on the move and had to set up the van every time we parked.

We didn’t do the wild camping I thought we’d do so we were stuck in campsites, which didn’t feel that inspiring.

What helps you support yourself through big leaps?

Keeping connected to my friends helped me enormously. They do think I am a tad eccentric!

But I have a lot of kind friends who listen when I’m struggling and jump on a train at the drop of a hat if they hear I need them.

I feel really lucky.

I also have a little dog called Bertie now and he helps to create a structure to the day – four walks a day.

When I first started building my life in Alnwick, I didn’t have much routine so it’s very grounding to go for a dog walk. And you make lots of dog walking friends.

And heart leaps?

Heart leaps are what life is about for me.

If I ignore my heart leaps, I soon get listless and feel down. I trust myself a lot more these days than I did when I was younger.

When I get that heart leap, I really turn around and look it at and explore what’s going on.

Your heart will tell you what direction to go in.

The danger is when you ignore it. I choose to listen to my heart these days and follow its call. 

I couldn't agree more ❤️ How else did and do you take care of yourself?

I have had therapy – the last time was just before we bought the canal boat. I think therapy can help you move the big, dark scary stuff that lurks in your subconscious but you’re too scared to look at on your own.

I work with coaches when I need to get clarity – usually about business now or writing. I’m about to start working with a writing coach at The Novelry -https://www.thenovelry.com/

I do yoga once a week – Yin Yoga has helped me through the menopause. (Although after years of managing it naturally, I have just started HRT).

I also try to do the 7 minute app exercise twice a week. I am trying to get to 20 press ups. I can do 6 right now!

I don’t drink any alcohol – I gave up on my 50^th birthday, I eat reasonably well (I joke that I am a pork pie eating vegan – as I'm mostly veggie with the odd digression. In the camper van- I would eat junk but occasionally I still hear the call of the Golden Arches!)

If I’m struggling, I will journal – I journal all the time. I’m an extravert so I process while talking so living on my own for the first time in a long time, journaling gives me the space to talk it through on my own! I go sea swimming when I can – but realistically once a month.

It makes me feel alive and connected to the universe. I went swimming with the seals recently off the Farne Islands and we got an escort of dolphins on the way back – amazing!

What are your future hopes and plans?

I want to finish my book and find a publisher for it or self-publish it. It’s about the adventure I had on the canal boat with Charlie.

We are just planning our second Alnwick Story Fest which will be 16-18^th February 2024 – we are just lining up some BRILLIANT authors to come to the festival.

I am loving creating my Heart Leap sub stack community – I call it The Heart Leap Club- we’re planning to do The Artist’s Way together in October as well as hosting a self-development expert once a month and weekly writing ‘happy hours’

I am also coaching a handful of people who want support while they are making the big leap.

I took a course this year of intuitive painting with Kia Cannons who I adore so I’m doing a bit of painting – I’m terrible at it but I LOVE it but that’s where my heart leap is taking me at the moment. https://metro.co.uk/2023/04/30/big-happiness-interview-how-intuitive-painting-can-make-you-happy-18685926/

Find Suzy at

Heart Leap

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with love,