Reading and Wellness Q and A with Tiffany Francis-Baker
The last Q and A from my old website! Tiffany has a lovely new book out, "Ebb and Flow".
Q. What are, or have been, your biggest challenges in mental or physical well-being?
A. My biggest mental challenge was being diagnosed with postnatal depression in 2020, after the birth of my daughter Olive. I had never experienced depression before, although I had developed anxiety in 2019 after burning out over too much work. The postnatal depression felt like there was a fog in my brain and I couldn’t shift it. It felt like someone had hijacked my mind and it was no longer my own. Fortunately I sought help and I now feel almost completely myself again, although I still have low points now and again.
Q. When you’re feeling down, what are the things that help you through? What are your top three tips that might help others?
A. I love going for a walk with my dogs and daughter. It’s wonderful to observe the changing seasons and breathe fresh air, and Olive loves spotting birds which always cheers me up. I also love tidying and cleaning the house - I find it very therapeutic! And having a hot shower, getting into a clean bed and enjoying an early night always makes me feel better. If all else fails, I buy a lemon yum yum.
Q. What do you do for day-to-day self-care?
A. I drink plenty of water and treat myself to proper coffee from our machine, which takes longer and helps me slow down and savour it. I go for a walk every day and I have a twice daily skincare routine that relaxes and refreshes me.
Q. I work with a lot of young adults experiencing difficulty. What do you wish someone had said to you as a teenager to help you with difficult times?
A. I wish I’d had the confidence to be myself and not worry about being cool or following everyone else. I had a great time as a teenager but looking back, it didn’t feel like me. It’s an emotionally turbulent time of life and I think it would be much easier if we could get to know ourselves properly instead of worrying about what other people thought of us all the time.
Q. Do you think reading is important, and why?
A. Yes! I have two English degrees and have always found so much comfort and wisdom in the written word. My favourite time of the day is getting into bed and reading. It’s the perfect escape, and a window into the minds of others and the world outside. I think reading can also teach us to be more empathetic and compassionate.
Q. What are you currently reading?
A. I’m re-reading one of my favourite books from my undergraduate degree, Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. It’s a Victorian sensation novel and a proper page-turner.
Q. Are there any books you go back to time after time?
A. I love re-reading Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials and the Harry Potter books, probably because they remind me of my childhood and I find them comforting.
Q. What book has had the biggest impact on you?
A. In terms of fiction, probably The Lord of the Rings. I’m in a constant state of mourning that I can’t live in Middle Earth. In non-fiction, it would be Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, which is the first book I read that really revealed to me how deeply connected we are to the natural world, and how any damage we do to the planet will always come back to us.
Q. Where and how do you do most of your reading?
A. Trying to fit in work around a one year old means I don’t read much in the daytime, but every night I read before bed and it’s such a relaxing way to end the day. I am a paper book kind of person, although I bear no ill will to the Kindle!