About me – Jen Moon

Nutritionist, chef, author, mother

Jen moon - for the brave

Hi there, I’m Jen Moon, and I absolutely love what I do

I love research, I love learning about the mind and what makes us tick. I love helping people, and I get a kick out of problem-solving.

So, when my daughter presented me with a massive challenge, a mental health crisis with raging anxiety and panic attacks, I got to work. I studied nutrition, worked with psychologists, therapists, went to countless workshops, doing all I could to help find answers.

I wrote For the Brave, for people like my daughter, who desperately wanted to stop the panic attacks, stop the anxiety.

But I also wrote it for people like me, who had to watch someone they love deal with the nightmare, because there’s nothing more painful that to watch someone you care fight a battle like this, and be unable to help.

After my daughter’s accident, I went back to college to study nutrition. I needed to learn about how the foods that we chose to eat fuelled our bodies and minds, and how they contributed to our mental health.

And I discovered, yes, they play an absolutely crucial role.

I am also a qualified chef, being lucky enough to work as a private/personal chef on superyachts, ski chalets, villas, country estates. This has meant I have the skills needed to create amazing meals that include those crucial nutrients so important to physical and mental health.

I have written a number of articles and books over the years, including Working on yachts and superyachts.

I absolutely love writing, and find putting pen to paper a genuine joy each day. (Editing? Not so much!)

My ADHD means I’m not keen on huge swathes of text. I lose interest. So, when I wrote For the Brave, I wrote it for people like me. There had to be pictures, and relatable stories and easy “dip in, dip out”.

For the Brave, also needed to be funny, light, easy, and logical.

I was “lucky” enough to understand a little of what my daughter was dealing with. I, too, have dealt with the nightmare of being too afraid to leave the house, of being so frightened of panic attacks I ended triggering them. So, yeah, I understand a little of both sides.

Jen moon - for the braveI LOATHE having my photo taken. I dread being filmed. So my “Do tough things” is to have photos taken of me, film videos and generally get my face out there.

=>> Evidence to support this effort …

(This is to build grit and resilience, as per section four of For the Brave.)

As anyone who has ever struggled with their mental health knows, the level of bravery it takes, just to get out of bed some days, is  astonishing

I wanted to honour that bravery, the sheer courage it sometimes takes, just to deal with the ordinary, every day.

  • I grew up in South Africa
  • I have the best, most wonderful dog on the planet
  • I live in East Yorkshire
  • I speak four languages (but three are beyond rusty atm)
  • I wanted to be a neurologist
  • My proudest accomplishment is walking out of the Grand Canyon and hitch-hiking to Mexico with a broken ankle (because I was too poor for US medical treatment!)
  • I don’t have a prized possession
  • My escape is a good book
  • My favourite two celebrities are Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson
  • I have too many superstitions which I am too superstitious to detail (but numbers are way too important to me)
  • I dream of living in a beautiful, airy home in NSW, Australia
  • I am really, really bad at singing, washing up, staying tidy, opening post
  • I am really, really good at sticking to my goals, doing new things, day-dreaming
  • My favourite smells are snow, petrichor, mown grass, my babies, my dog
  • My favourite foods are Thai and Italian

Seeking Professional Help

If you have felt any of the symptoms of anxiety or a panic attack for the first time, please go and see your doctor. They’ll arrange tests that will rule out any underlying health conditions that might be contributing to you feeling this way. Sometimes those scary words, underlying health conditions, are genuinely as simple as a basic nutrient deficiency, easily fixed.

♥♥♥ A few much appreciated reviews ♥♥♥

From some readers and beta readers who received advance copies of Boosted!

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