Steph’s life spans many caring, inspiring careers. Often simultaneously. Having trained as a nurse in Cape Town, South Africa, she moved to London to train  as a paediatric nurse. Caring for children and their parents, she was constantly moved by the families’ pain and anxieties whilst dealing with the ever-increasing upheavals in their lives. Their responses to these crises inspired her to understand coping at a deeper level and she became a lecturer in biological science.

An inspired lecturer many years before described compelling opportunities that would broaden her horizons. As the first step, Steph began by working with VSO in a tiny community along the banks of the Nile in Northern Sudan.  There she  learnt their languages, shared their dramas, and observed their customs when dealing with tragedy and joy. Thoroughly inspired by this experience, she returned to London to begin studying Medical Anthropology; how cultures perceive and access health, illness and healing.

Having observed traumatised colleagues in Northern Iraq in 1991, she based her research on how humanitarian workers cope while working in areas of conflict. Further research in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sudan and Timor, showed how small, positive adjustments to beliefs and attitudes can help people become stronger and more resilient.

Returning after a year in Darfur, ill and exhausted, Steph started her journey in personal development, becoming a healing practitioner. Drawing upon a multitude of experiences, she started her first love: writing.

Hence Bendy Elephant.

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