Women of Steel with Miriam Grace

Cari Hunter lives in the northwest of England with her wife, their cats, and a field full of sheep. She works full-time as a paramedic and dreams up stories in her spare time.

Cari enjoys long windswept muddy walks in her beloved Peak District. In the summer she can usually be found sitting in the garden with her feet up, scribbling in her writing pad. Although she doesn’t like to boast, she will admit that she makes a very fine Bakewell Tart.

No Good Reason, the first in the Dark Peak series, won a 2015 Rainbow Award for Best Mystery and was a finalist in the 2016 Lambda and Goldie Awards. Its sequel, Cold to the Touch, won a Goldie for Best Mystery. A Quiet Death, the final book in the series, was a finalist in the 2018 Lambda and Goldie Awards. She has since won Goldies for Alias, Breathe, and Unbreakable. 

In 2024, she won the Lambda Award for LGBTQ+ Mystery for A Calculated Risk, the first book in the DI Jo Shaw series.

Email [email protected]

Book release – The Stolen Girl, June 1st via Bold Strokes website and wide release June 10th. Available paperback, e-book, and audio with Nicola Victoria Vincent narrating.

Website carihunter.wordpress.com

Facebook page @cari.hunter.9

Instagram @cari.hunter

Threads @cari.hunter

Miriam Grace is a psychotherapist and author with 35 years experience. 

Website: www.blue-skies.org.uk 

Facebook: Miriam Grace Therapist Blue Skies

Instagram: @MiriamGraceBlueSkies

Email: [email protected]

Podcast website: womenofsteel.co.uk 

Instagram: @womenofsteelpod

Facebook: @womenofsteelpodcast

Production by Tim Jones: webmill.co.uk 

Music by Brynovsky: brynovsky.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Loneliness is often described as the second pandemic. The mental health impact can be seen throughout society. People’s personalities and needs may be different but all of us need connection with others. The challenging political times require strategies to manage our nervous systems and central to these strategies are the benefits of groups, friendships and networks.

In this episode Miriam Grace and long time friend, Imogen Ragone, talk about friendship, connection and oxytocin. Miriam welcomes Imogen back to the UK from the US and they discuss their co-regulation during Imogen's visit and through their friendship of 55 years. With their considerable experience in using neuroscience to inform their practices with traumatised clients and students, Miriam and Imogen look at how shame keeps us from acknowledging we need others, and how overcoming this can regulate us emotionally and bring physical and mental health benefits.

Imogen's website: https://imogenragone.com

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CalmConfidentControl

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bodyintelligencecommunity

On LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/imogenragone

Foundations of Regulation Course for women dealing with chronic stress or trauma:

https://imogenragone.com/foundations-of-regulation

Monthly Half-Hour Guided Constructive Rest Sessions: 

https://imogenragone.com/constructive-rest-for-stress-relief

Miriam Grace is a psychotherapist and author with 35 years experience. 

Website: www.blue-skies.org.uk 

Facebook: Miriam Grace Therapist Blue Skies

Instagram: @MiriamGraceBlueSkies

Email: [email protected]

Podcast website: womenofsteel.co.uk 

Instagram: @womenofsteelpod

Facebook: @womenofsteelpodcast

Production by Tim Jones: webmill.co.uk 

Music by Brynovsky: brynovsky.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Miriam speaks to Grace Quantock about her work as a therapist, author and speaker encouraging others to to live well with chronic illness without burn out or blame. Grace is an award-winning psychotherapeutic counsellor, speaker and author of Living Well With Chronic Illness: Write your own road map to healing in tough times (Orion Spring, 2024). Awards include a Future Young Leader of Wales Award & multiple award winner of Great British Entrepreneur Awards. Grace has been nominated for Britain’s Top Real Role Model, Entrepreneur Wales Awards.

Grace has been featured in Marie Claire Magazine, The Huffington Post, The Hay Festival, Positive News, Gala Darling, TEDxAylesbury, The Guardian, The Independent, The Metro, The Daily Mirror, The Sun and The Times of London. 

Miranda Hart on BBC Woman’s Hour

Hashtags

#chronicillness

#cfs

#cfsme

#disability

#psychotherapy

Grace has a number of special offers available from her website: GraceQuantock.com

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram: @grace_quantock

TikTok: @grace_quantock

Twitter/X: @grace_quantock

YouTube: @gracequantock

Miriam Grace is a psychotherapist and author with 35 years experience. 

Website: www.blue-skies.org.uk 

Facebook: Miriam Grace Therapist Blue Skies

Instagram: @MiriamGraceBlueSkies

Email: [email protected]

Podcast website: womenofsteel.co.uk 

Instagram: @womenofsteelpod

Facebook: @womenofsteelpodcast

Production by Tim Jones: webmill.co.uk 

Music by Brynovsky: brynovsky.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruth Elizabeth Jones is a ceramic artist based in Scotland and her creative practice centres on the vessel form. She builds clay vessels using coil-building techniques dating back to matriarchal Neolithic pottery cultures, and her work makes ongoing reference to the female ceramic record.

She is currently developing large sculptural vessels, which balance inner volume and outer form, and look to achieve the stillness of a quiet holding or containing space.

Her approach to clay focuses on its materiality; she explores its possibilities and resistances. Her intention is that the meditative focus of making, the union of energy and calm, is somehow retained in the work.

Her vessels are smoke-fired with sustainably sourced wood shavings, and as a result they acquire rich and varied surfaces, suggestive of light and dark.

Ruth’s affinity with clay has been lifelong. After studying in the Midlands in the 1980s, she established studios firstly in Derby and then in rural Southwest Scotland where she continues to live and work.

You can follow Ruth on:

Website: ruthelizabethjones.com

Facebook: @ruthelizabethjonesceramics

Instagram: @ruth_elizabeth_jones

Sign Up for Ruth’s newsletter to hear about upcoming exhibitions and events.

Upcoming Events

Hag. Knowledge, Power & Alchemy Through Craft 

March - June 2025

York Ceramics Fair 

March 2025

Potfest by the Lake, Compton Verney

June 2025

Potfest in the Park, Hutton-in-the-Forest 

July 2025

Other information

The Great Pottery Throwdown

Miriam Grace is a psychotherapist and author with 35 years experience. 

Website: www.blue-skies.org.uk 

Facebook: Miriam Grace Therapist Blue Skies

Instagram: @MiriamGraceBlueSkies

Email: [email protected]

Podcast website: womenofsteel.co.uk 

Instagram: @womenofsteelpod

Facebook: @womenofsteelpodcast

Production by Tim Jones: webmill.co.uk 

Music by Brynovsky: brynovsky.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Germaine Hypher is an award winning poet, a mother, a writer and craftivist.

Germaine has been chronically ill for decades, and is largely bed-bound.

During a childhood, where she was often too unwell to attend school, Germaine has been reliant on carers over many decades, Germaine has been able to return to a sense of meaning and purpose through her poetry, writing and crafting.

Her new book CRAFTING A PATH THROUGH ILLNESS is available:

- now for preorder in the UK from: Amazon and Waterstones

- from all good booksellers from: April 17th 2025.

Published by: Hammersmith Press

You can follow Germaine on:

Website: www.germainehypher.weebly.com

Facebook: Crafting A Path Through Illness

Instagram: @craftingapaththroughillness

Bluesky: germainehypher

Miriam Grace is a psychotherapist and author with 35 years experience. 

Website: www.blue-skies.org.uk 

Facebook: Miriam Grace Therapist Blue Skies

Instagram: @MiriamGraceBlueSkies

Email: [email protected]

Podcast website: womenofsteel.co.uk 

Instagram: @womenofsteelpod

Facebook: @womenofsteelpodcast

Production by Tim Jones: webmill.co.uk 

Music by Brynovsky: brynovsky.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part two of Miriam's talk with Alexander teacher and creator of Body Intelligence, Imogen Ragone. They talk about the inevitable stresses of caring for a parent with dementia and learn how Imogen was able to apply her learning to help her through devastating and incremental loss.

Imogen helps women who are stressed, anxious, maybe even dealing with trauma, to better support their nervous system so they feel calmer and more at ease in themselves, and so they have a sense of more agency and feel more empowered in their lives.

Imogen calls her work, “BodyIntelligence,” and it is based on the principles of the Alexander Technique, an evidence-based mind-body approach to using our whole selves – body and mind - consciously, efficiently, with freedom, ease and poise. She has over 18 years’ experience teaching this transformational work, and has developed her own unique approach focusing especially on an embodied mindfulness and self-care. In recent years her work has increasingly focused on supporting women, especially those in caregiving roles with friends or family members, and dealing with chronic stress and trauma.

Imogen gives her clients concepts, tools, and mindful practices they can use immediately. These days she mostly works with small groups and much of this is done online via Zoom, though she does maintain a small private practice too.

Imogen's website: https://imogenragone.com

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CalmConfidentControl

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bodyintelligencecommunity

On LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/imogenragone

Foundations of Regulation Course for women dealing with chronic stress or trauma:

https://imogenragone.com/foundations-of-regulation

Monthly Half-Hour Guided Constructive Rest Sessions: 

https://imogenragone.com/constructive-rest-for-stress-relief

Miriam Grace is a psychotherapist and author with 35 years experience. 

Website: www.blue-skies.org.uk 

Facebook: Miriam Grace Therapist Blue Skies

Instagram: @MiriamGraceBlueSkies

Email: [email protected]

Podcast website: womenofsteel.co.uk 

Instagram: @womenofsteelpod

Facebook: @womenofsteelpodcast

Production by Tim Jones: webmill.co.uk 

Music by Brynovsky: brynovsky.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karen Shimwell and Miriam Grace have both worked therapeutically in mental health for decades. In this episode Karen explains how her identity as a witch is in alignment with the post menopausal experience, aging, therapy, healing, death, and the every day magic of women especially those who hold space for others. Karen also describes the significance and personal experience of Well Dressing. a unique tradition practiced in Derbyshire villages around Sheffield. Karen currently manages projects to help individuals recover from addiction in community settings in and around Sheffield, the City of Steel, UK.

Hera & Her Wayward Daughters

Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1035387933488436 

“If you’re tired of endless images of women that don’t reflect your experience of ageing and you’re a woman that’s interested in an unflinching look at what ageing women might look like and how they’re represented in art, then this group is for you. There will be nudity and occasional strong language. Opinions may differ. Some people are waspish or stroppy. Enjoy.”

More information about Well Dressing:

youlgravewelldressers.co.uk/2025.html

welldressing.com/extra.php

Miriam Grace is a psychotherapist and author with 35 years experience. 

Website: www.blue-skies.org.uk 

Facebook: Miriam Grace Therapist Blue Skies

Instagram: @MiriamGraceBlueSkies

Email: [email protected]

Podcast website: womenofsteel.co.uk 

Instagram: @womenofsteelpod

Facebook: @womenofsteelpodcast

Production by Tim Jones: webmill.co.uk 

Music by Brynovsky: brynovsky.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Miriam speaks to Lotte Mikkelsen, Laughter Coach and therapist. Lotte explains how laughter is not just her own therapy but is also her profession and how she helps people find the physical and emotional benefits of laughter practiced in Laughter Yoga sessions. In discussions of mood management and the difficulties in the winter season for some, Miriam and Lotte share some laugher and thoughts about emotional release. It might be hard to believe that even pretend laughter can improve mood, but if you feel better after listening, then do email Women of Steel or leave a review. All the links are below.

Book List chosen by Lotte

Rise and Shine by Kate and Toby Oliver – the book I would have written if they had not done it first

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – a great book for opening your mind to what is possible

Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert – a bit of science and great thoughts

Lottie Mikkelsen Laughter Ambassador and THE Laughter Yoga Master Trainer (UK)

Laughter Coach & Therapist, Gibberish Advisor & Trainer, MISMA

Phone: +44 (0) 7736341717

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.unitedmind.co.uk

Facebook: facebook.com/unitedmind.through.laughter

Instagram: instagram.com/unitedmindlaughteryoga

Tiktok: tiktok.com/@laughteryoga

Miriam Grace is a psychotherapist and author with 35 years experience. 

Website: www.blue-skies.org.uk 

Facebook: Miriam Grace Therapist Blue Skies

Instagram: @MiriamGraceBlueSkies

Email: [email protected]

Podcast website: womenofsteel.co.uk 

Instagram: @womenofsteelpod

Facebook: @womenofsteelpodcast

Production by Tim Jones: webmill.co.uk 

Music by Brynovsky: brynovsky.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Suzette Mullen talks to Miriam about her book, 'The Only Way Through is Out' and the importance and significance of women’s stories and writings. They discuss the process of coming out, the books that have helped them empathise with others, favourite authors and the life saving nature of community and connection.

Suzette Mullen is a certified book coach, speaker, and the author of the coming-out and coming-of-age memoir The Only Way Through Is Out (University of Wisconsin Press, 2024), named one of February’s “most anticipated” releases by Lambda Literary. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, today.com, and Brevity, among other outlets. As a book coach, Suzette guides memoir and nonfiction writers to find their deeper stories and define their big ideas, and she particularly enjoys supporting LGBTQ+ writers. A graduate of Harvard Law School and Wellesley College, Suzette made a big leap personally and professionally at midlife and is working on her next memoir, appropriately titled After the Leap.

Books and authors mentioned in the show are: Elizabeth Strout (an example is Lucy by the Sea); Butch Hijab Blues A Memoir by Lamya H; Milkman by Anna Burns; The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christie Lefteri and The Only Way Through Is Out by Suzette Mullen.

Suzette Mullen:

Instagram: @urstoryfinder

Website: https://www.yourstoryfinder.com

Work with Suzette: https://www.yourstoryfinder.com/workwithsuzette

Books: https://www.yourstoryfinder.com/books

Miriam Grace is a psychotherapist and author with 35 years experience. 

Website: www.blue-skies.org.uk 

Facebook: Miriam Grace Therapist Blue Skies

Instagram: @MiriamGraceBlueSkies

Email: [email protected]

Podcast website: womenofsteel.co.uk 

Instagram: @womenofsteelpod

Facebook: @womenofsteelpodcast

Production by Tim Jones: webmill.co.uk 

Music by Brynovsky: brynovsky.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexander teacher and creator of Body Intelligence, Imogen Ragone and Miriam talk about the inevitable stresses of caring for a parent with dementia and learn how Imogen was able to apply her learning to help her through devastating and incremental loss.

Imogen helps women who are stressed, anxious, maybe even dealing with trauma, to better support their nervous system so they feel calmer and more at ease in themselves, and so they have a sense of more agency and feel more empowered in their lives.

Imogen calls her work, “BodyIntelligence,” and it is based on the principles of the Alexander Technique, an evidence-based mind-body approach to using our whole selves – body and mind - consciously, efficiently, with freedom, ease and poise. She has over 18 years’ experience teaching this transformational work, and has developed her own unique approach focusing especially on an embodied mindfulness and self-care. In recent years her work has increasingly focused on supporting women, especially those in caregiving roles with friends or family members, and dealing with chronic stress and trauma.

Imogen gives her clients concepts, tools, and mindful practices they can use immediately. These days she mostly works with small groups and much of this is done online via Zoom, though she does maintain a small private practice too.

Imogen's website: https://imogenragone.com

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CalmConfidentControl

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bodyintelligencecommunity

On LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/imogenragone

Foundations of Regulation Course for women dealing with chronic stress or trauma:

https://imogenragone.com/foundations-of-regulation

Monthly Half-Hour Guided Constructive Rest Sessions: 

https://imogenragone.com/constructive-rest-for-stress-relief

Miriam Grace is a psychotherapist and author with 35 years experience. 

Website: www.blue-skies.org.uk 

Facebook: Miriam Grace Therapist Blue Skies

Instagram: @MiriamGraceBlueSkies

Email: [email protected]

Podcast website: womenofsteel.co.uk 

Instagram: @womenofsteelpod

Facebook: @womenofsteelpodcast

Production by Tim Jones: webmill.co.uk 

Music by Brynovsky: brynovsky.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.