I’m on a mission to change how we think about life after trauma.
Every day, our world becomes more uncertain. As wars rage and the climate crisis intensifies, we need to find new ways to live amidst deep uncertainty. I believe that trauma survivors have a lot to teach us about how to live in a world full of chaos.
Beyond Survival is an online home built by survivors, for survivors1. It’s for anyone recovering from trauma, experiencing grief, or living with mental and chronic illness. In short, it’s for anyone seeking new ways to survive, heal, and grow amidst deep uncertainty.
Here, you’ll find…
Essays about survival as a creative act
Down-to-earth, accessible resources for rebuilding your life after trauma
Interviews about recovery, grief, and healing
SurvivorStack, a directory of newsletters about trauma & recovery
My advice column, Ask Clare (paid)
Community chats to share stories, recommendations, and seek support (paid)
Recovery is not a passive process of letting time pass and hoping to heal. It requires maintenance, care and attention, and we were never meant to do it alone. I hope the Beyond Survival community will be a resource for you, as you work to heal your pain and reimagine a more whole-hearted life.
Recovery was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s probably the hardest thing I’ll ever do. But I created Beyond Survival because together, we can recover. We can rebuild. And, when we’re ready, we can de-center our trauma and just live.
Beyond Survival is a social enterprise.
It is an entrepreneurial project that's rooted in generating a positive social impact, rather than profit. Of course I need to make a living, but my primary mission is to make a difference in survivors' lives.
For access to my advice column, private community chats, and to support & empower survivors to rebuild their lives, please become a patron of Beyond Survival.
A little more about me:
I’ve always been a writer. My work has been published widely, and I’m currently revising my first novel.
I live in Dublin, Ireland with my fiancée, F, and our two cats. F is Italian, I love to cook, and we fell in love through food.
I’m a big believer in ‘Solvitur ambulando’, a Latin phrase which translates to ‘it is solved by walking.’ Whenever I have a problem, I take it on a walk.
Prior to founding Beyond Survival, I spent 10+ years working in non-profits like UNICEF and Amnesty International. In 2024, I completed a competitive social entrepreneurship accelerator programme.
Creating this community, I often think of the person I was ten years ago. I felt so alone, as I scrambled to come to terms with my mother’s death and the sexual abuse I’d experienced as a child. Beyond Survival is the resource that would have changed my life if it existed a decade ago.
To read more about my own experience of grief, childhood sexual violence and complex mental illness, you might like to start with this introductory essay. (Don’t worry, it has a happy ending!)
A note on language: I use the term ‘survivor’ because that feels true to my experience. I was the victim of a heinous crime, but I grew beyond that identity. The term ‘survivor’ doesn’t resonate with everyone. Many people who’ve experienced sexual violence feel that it’s either too lofty or that it diminishes the seriousness of the crime their body endured. On Beyond Survival, I want to use language that feels right for each individual person. In interviews and podcasts, I use the interviewee’s preferred language. When I talk about my own experience, I use language that feels right for me.
