Lessons Learnt From A Broken Heart - In Search of Mr Darcy Edition

There are few people on this earth, especially if you are over 40, who can say they've never had their heart broken. It’s almost a rite of passage. Heartbreak has tremendous power. It can hurt, enlighten, destroy, strengthen, shatter, sadden, transform, illuminate, empower and…change lives. It has inspired countless songs that can rip your heart right out of your chest (shout out to Leonard Cohen). It has left poets broken and beautiful, and it has been pretty much the plot in every rom-com I’ve ever obsessively wept over (shout out to Nicholas Sparks and The Notebook.)

I mean, if you are living life, how can you avoid it?

Want to Take Mr Darcy Home? How About a Free Audio Book Giveaway?

Win an audio copy of the book The Sunday Post called “Jubilant —A Must-Read for any woman worried about life after 40."

I am thrilled to announce that the long-awaited audio version of my award-winning book, In Search of Mr Darcy: Lessons Learnt In The Pursuit Of Happily Ever After, is now available in North America. Woot, Woot!

To celebrate, I am having a very special Mr Darcy audiobook giveaway contest. Now, before you ask, yes, I am narrating. So, depending on where you like to listen, you could take Mr Darcy (and me) to bed with you.

The Unforeseeable Upside of Vanity and How It Saved My Life

Ah, the sixties, the age, not the swinging decade. That dreaded biological marker that loomed before me like an ominous spectre. The mere mention of it sends a shiver down my spine, for it carries with it the weight of time and the burden of age. But, in the midst of this daunting reality, I must admit that there are certain unexpected advantages to growing older. The beauty of a sunset now holds a profound significance, a seniors discount at the movies brings a small glimmer of joy, and, if the passage of time has any value, I should possess a certain wisdom acquired through the trials and tribulations of life.

Yet, alongside these silver linings, there exists a shadow cast by the ageing process. My once vibrant metabolism has betrayed me, opting for reverse rather than forward, and I awaken to inexplicable aches and pains merely from sleeping weird. My existence can come to a screeching halt when my reading glasses, quite conveniently perched atop my head, mysteriously vanish into thin air. And… there is a hint of mortality that occasionally wafts in like smoke from a distant fire, triggered by a phone call in the middle of the night which can only mean bad news.

Leah McLaren & Me ~ Authors, Single Moms, and All Around Hysterical Humans

Permit me, my beautiful readers, to introduce my special guest, Leah McLaren. She is more than a guest. She is a three-time published author, award-winning journalist and a G&T-loving friend. And don't we all need one of those?

On Leah's invitation during the deep and dark time of Covid, I boarded a completely empty train and got my ass to a little rustic Welsh farmhouse that Leah had rented. I was attempting to write my very first book, and Leah was pounding out her latest, a poignant mother-daughter memoir, Where I End, and You Begin. "Don't talk to anyone", she warned me. "I mean it, Christina, no one." She was terrified that the Welsh villagers would take one listen to my Canadian accent and, with torches high and pitchforks at the ready, storm the farmhouse and evoke a tiny-town-terror of Covid justice.

Thank You Mr Wrong. I Couldn't Have Got Here Without You

When one generally thinks of a breakup, one often imagines a double-barrel, snot-bubbling ugly cry in a dark room, duvet pulled over head, empty ice cream containers littering the floor and lying awake in the middle of the night, imaging all the painful ways he might die. Wait, is that just me? After you have stopped crying and put down the Häagen Dazs, it might be time to reclaim your life (and power).

Most of us can relate to the crushing end of a relationship we swore would last forever. The loss of something big, the mourning of something bigger, what might have been, instead of what was. That's been the trickiest bit for me, in a way. What I thought it was going to be versus what it actually was. I think they call that dating for potential.

Top 10 Dating Mistakes as Told By Jane Austen and A.I's Newest Love Child...ChatGPT

I am a cheater. A curious, cheating creature. I did not write the blog on dating you are about to read, Jane Austen did. Well, IA did, in the style of Jane Austen.

For those who know me, you know I am a lover of tech. I’ve been talking to Alexa for years, Google Maps is telling me how to get there, Calm lulling me to sleep, Suri answering my questions, and Find My Phone will let me know when my phone is stuck between two sofa cushions.

So when I was told about ChatGPT, I had to give it a try. And you know what, I was equal parts blown away and terrified. For those who aren’t up on the latest technology, let me explain. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot that allows you to have human-like conversations. Think of it as if Google and Suri had a love child.

It can answer questions, write and fix code, translate, and generate content like emails, essays,…and blogs.

My first experiment with the IA master was to have it write me a complaint letter to my water company, which I believe is overcharging me. In approximately ten seconds, I had a brilliant letter with not a single word I’d have to change. No creative punctuation or spelling, which I have a propensity for.

BREAKING NEWS! MY BOOK, IN SEARCH OF MR DARCY: LESSONS LEARNT IN PURSUIT OF HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS AVAILABLE

I’m not sure if I can conjure the words to express what an unexpected, crazy journey the last few years have taken me on. My life, and in all the ways I defined it, mother, daughter, lover, boss, employer, friend, sister and Hunter’s human, were all changed, reimagined or permanently altered for good. In short, without these labels that I had dressed myself in, I had no idea who I was. None.

It’s funny when you are presented with change. At first, you resist it, much like getting that suspicious mole checked or online dating. You push hard against it and do whatever you can to make it stop or, at the very least, slow it down. Change can be terrifying. But as we know, change is the only constant in our lives. So the question is not “will this change” but rather, “what are you going to do with the changes?”

Me, I wrote a book.

The Unusual Path Of A First Time Author

It's interesting in life how many times we reinvent. Our bodies are cellular different every seven years, so science tells us. So, in essence, a brand new you. We've often had several careers, and don't get me started on the vast array of "loves of my life" I have fallen in and out of love with. I have had many, many lives, and every one of them was extraordinary, varied and ripe with lessons.

In my early twenties, I had a career in the glitzy cosmetic retail industry, and then I spent over a quarter century deep in the world of advertising and production. Hell, I even produced a feature film that opened TIFF. I moved countries and pretty much shed most of the labels that defined who I was to the world and, truthfully, to me as well. This isn't some sort of right-to-brag CV but rather an introduction to my thinking that anything is possible when no one tells you no.

Don’t Worry, Babe. I Can Go All Night ...And Other Things Women Over 50 Never, Ever Want to Hear in Bed

Aaaah, the mature woman. That fabulous creature that, if wooed with the right balance of precision and passion, might be the best sex you have ever had. You heard me—the best.

With a real risk of oversharing, sex over 50 is the culmination of decades of learning. I cannot speak for my married sisters, those women who’ve been having sex with the same partner who has been leaving the toilet seat up and the tea bag in the sink for years. But I can speak for the single ladies who have graciously and generously shared their fabulous, unfiltered sex stories with me.

Let’s get started. Encase there is a guy out there over the age of fourteen that doesn’t know this, women share everything. Yes, all of it. We talk in delicious, delightful details…about… well…all of it. If you are wondering, did she tell her girlfriend about…insert worst fear here*, the answer is, of course, she did. And they probably told their friends. I believe that is why women live longer, by talking it out. Sure you guys talk too. But it’s different, more surface, singular, simple and summarized. An uncomplicated “ya, I shagged her…um, dude, I think it’s your round.”

A-BROAD IN LONDON

A Survival Guide To Life, Travel & Being Sensationally Single

Win an audio copy of the book The Sunday Post called “Jubilant —A Must-Read for any woman worried about life after 40."

A-BROAD IN LONDON

A Survival Guide To Life, Travel & Being Sensationally Single

Win an audio copy of the book The Sunday Post called “Jubilant —A Must-Read for any woman worried about life after 40."

A Broad in London