From Consults to Creativity My First Herbie Novel is Published

My first novel is out now!

It's been a very long time since my last post. Long enough that I had forgotten how to write one. Oops!

Life hasn't been standing still in the meantime. Our world has kept ticking along in its steady way, and I have continued to serve happily, same as usual. Consults, conversations, herbs, questions, care, follow-up, more learning, more listening. The familiar rhythm has continued, even as my own rhythm has been gently changing.

A couple of years ago, I semi-retired. In plain terms, I cut back the number of days each week that I offered consults. That decision came from a good and honest place. I wanted more time at home, more time with family and friends, more time in the garden, in the paddocks, and more space for the hobbies and learning other things that had often been squeezed around the edges.

Just saying...

Earlier this year I discovered that there is such a thing as "Applied Neurology" and oh my goodness that is fascinating! I learnt the foundation course earlier this year and will complete the advanced course by the end of this year. Let me be very clear, I am not studying formal neurology and will not end up a neurologist. I am learning it for my own interest and it's another tool in my toolbox for thinking about ways to help those with pain, immobility, balance issues and more. I am learning through Kruse Elite and you can learn for yourself, for free just by watching their instructional videos and listening to their podcasts on their Youtube channel or via their website.

Most recently, I have decided to close my books to new patients. That means I am not currently offering first-time consults for new patients. This was not a sudden or careless choice. It was a practical one.

Having thought long and hard about this, the only exception I can foresee to the new patient rule will be:

For those families where I already treat and care for Mum, Dad and some of the children, I will still be happy to take on the children I haven't yet cared for and the new babies as they arrive, as the need arises. That doesn't also mean the extended family however... and I am sorry about that.

When I first reduced my consulting days, I hoped to create a better balance. I wanted to keep doing the work I love while also making room for the rest of life.

As many of you know, demand did not really reduce just because my available days did. It became harder to keep those reduced days manageable while still giving proper time and attention to the people already in my care.

At the same time, my scope of care has kept growing. That is one of the beautiful things about this work. There is always more to learn, more to understand, and more depth to bring to each person’s situation. But deeper care also asks for time, energy, and presence. Those things cannot be endlessly stretched.

I have also been very mindful that there are many wonderful practitioners, including many “herbies”, who can provide care as I do. I know I am not the only doorway to health and wellbeing. Good care exists in many places, through many skilled hands and hearts.

Closing my books allows me to stop trying to be available to everyone and instead be properly available to those I already treat and care for.

Word of mouth has single-handedly grown this practice from the beginning... and I'm VERY grateful to be able to say that... Meaning, I'm very grateful for every referral along the way. Thank you!

For those already in my care, this change is intended to make things steadier.

It means I can settle into the reduced consulting days I had hoped for, without the constant pressure of trying to fit more people into a smaller space. It means I can focus more clearly on follow-up, ongoing care, and the connected relationships that we already have built.

It also means I can breathe a little more easily.

That may sound simple, but it matters. Any practitioner who has space to rest, tend a garden, read, write, cook, spend time with loved ones, and simply be a person is usually a better practitioner for it. Care work asks a lot. It is nourishing and meaningful work, but it still draws from the well.

I am truly learning, perhaps later than I should have, that the well needs tending too.

Semi-retirement has not felt like stepping away from purpose. It has felt more like returning to other parts of myself.

There is home. There is family. There is gardening, with all its small dramas and rewards. There are hobbies that have waited patiently in the wings. There are books to write, meals to prepare slowly, plants to fuss over, and quiet mornings that do not begin with a rush... Well, not as much of a rush anyway!

These things may seem pretty ordinary, yet to me, they feel precious.

For many years, I've allocated time for these joys around demand. I did that happily for a long time and I have no regrets. They have been rich years. I have met remarkable people, shared in brave and honest stories, and watched many small turning points unfold over time. By now I've been introduced to two new generations in families I've known from my early days in practice. What a blessing and an honour and a joy!

Still, seasons change.

This new season is asking for a different kind of faithfulness. Not less care, but more spacious care. Not less purpose, but purpose shared across more parts of life.

Something else has been stirring this year too.

I have been drawn to write.

That may sound like a small sentence, but for me it has been a long time coming. Writing has been one of those quiet loves that waited its turn while other responsibilities took the front seat. This year, at last, it moved closer.

And now I am thrilled to share some very happy news.

My very first “herbie” novel is published. It is Book One of the series to come, called The Chronicles of Murrilla.

It feels wonderful, strange, tender, and a little unreal to write that. There is something quite different about putting a story into the world. A consult is private and held gently between people. A book goes wandering. It leaves your hands and finds its own readers.

This novel grew from the same soil that has nourished much of my life: herbs, people, healing, curiosity, humour, mystery, and the human heart. It is fiction, of course (because it's a novel), but it carries the scent of a world I know well and is my response to the many who've encouraged me to write a herb book. It's not a text book. Rather, the old-fashioned herbal lore is woven into the stories because the main character is a herbalist, of course!

The paperback is available at my office for those who are already visiting.

It is also available on Amazon in both paperback and Ebook formats. If you would like to have a look, you can find it here: When Copper Violets Bloom. I hope you like it!

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me, asked after my writing, accepted my reduced days with kindness, or simply understood that life has seasons. I am very grateful.

This is a gentle update, but for me it marks a meaningful turning point. I am still here, still holding space for those already in my care, and now also making more room for home, garden, family, creativity, and the stories that have been waiting patiently to be written. Thank you for reading this, for your time and your interest.

Sending you much love. Jen. xo