Memoir ‘I AM HERE: On Staying Alive’ coming 21st January. Available to pre-order now. https://linktr.ee/beyondthemountainhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3mxqtjgryhc2iMy memoir ‘I AM HERE: On Staying Alive’ will be out on 21st January. It’s available to pre-order now.13 Oct 2026 10:35 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxqtjgryhc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3mhb2uieocs2uAfter three and a half months, my book is currently back with my editor (hooray). I now have a fortnight off from it. Yesterday I lolled around. Today I’ve been for a run in the sunshine, and am people-watching/tree inspecting on the Southbank with a novel I’ve fancied for a while. And breathe.17 Mar 2026 13:21 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhb2uieocs2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3mgfkuyaqak27Really enjoyed this, by @snowhydro.bsky.social - on bodies, how they change, and how we can move with that: https://psyche.co/turning-points/in-the-pool-my-heavier-self-rediscovered-strength-and-ease06 Mar 2026 14:53 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgfkuyaqak27https://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3mewjsnsd2k2hNot the snowy scenes that friends are sharing from Scotland and the Lakes, but I also went out hunting for vitamin D yesterday and found it in the North Downs, until inevitably the sun went down and I discovered that nowadays I’m actually pretty comfortable walking in the woods alone after dark.15 Feb 2026 21:58 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3mewjsnsd2k2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3meqhj6ljns23The 8th installment of all that’s going on as my memoir moves along the conveyor belt towards publication in Jan '27. This time it’s the confrontation between the rhythms of writing and those of publishing, and what it feels like to be caught between the two. https://open.substack.com/pub/exposurememoir/p/the-shift-to-having-deadlines?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email13 Feb 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3meqhj6ljns23https://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3mdn6lfkvk226As promised: publishing a memoir is known for messing with writers’ heads. Here’s how I’m trying to prepare for that in advance. (My memoir’s due out in Jan 2027.) #booksky #memoir #writingcommunity https://open.substack.com/pub/exposurememoir/p/psychological-prep-for-publishing?r=g6z8f&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true30 Jan 2026 11:18 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdn6lfkvk226https://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3mdi2vfs5rs2kApparently publishing a memoir can really mess with your head. Newsletter coming later today on how I’m trying to prepare for that - and for smooth delivery you can subscribe here to receive it: Exposurememoir.Substack.com/subscribe #booksky #writingcommunity #memoir #mentalhealth https://Exposurememoir.su28 Jan 2026 10:29 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdi2vfs5rs2khttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3mde6ydc63s2vMusing on books contracts - and how (unexpectedly, and surprisingly unglamorously) signing mine has had a lot of similarities with getting a traditional part-time job. #writingcommunity #memoir https://open.substack.com/pub/exposurememoir/p/signing-a-book-contract-is-basically?r=g6z8f&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay26 Jan 2026 21:31 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3mde6ydc63s2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3mbudxygink2cProcess of publishing my memoir, post two: editor emailed to say we’re now on a one-year countdown. Here’s how we’ve got to this point: https://exposurememoir.substack.com/p/how-weve-got-to-here #writingcommunity #memoir07 Jan 2026 20:53 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbudxygink2chttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3mbm5dollzc2eFor the writers among you (or the writing-interested): I'm finding the process of publishing my memoir fascinating. Working with a big publisher for the first time. Going through the editing process. Upcoming discussions about publicity, covers. Thinking through the personal psychological prep…04 Jan 2026 14:33 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbm5dollzc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m6n2r3eubx2pNot mountains. Instead, London winter beaches at their best.27 Nov 2025 19:04 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6n2r3eubx2phttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m4us65mz442pOkay, October, you were pretty good.05 Nov 2025 10:01 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4us65mz442phttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m4sh5yiilb2dI’ve recently started spending writing time in the foyer of the National Theatre. It’s not mountains, obviously, but somehow the textures, solidity, lines, height offer something akin.04 Nov 2025 11:39 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4sh5yiilb2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m4djey2y6t2fMy very wonderful mother-in-law periodically sends me newspaper cuttings she thinks I might like. Here’s the most recent, and frankly gorgeous, selection, with Jannu East taking centre stage.29 Oct 2025 13:08 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4djey2y6t2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m3ufgmdwus2iInsufficient space here to say it in detail - BUT - the high level is that I’ve just signed a book deal: My memoir of ‘grief, collapse, recovery and big mountains’ will be published by Chatto & Windus (part of PRH) in Jan/Feb 2027. I’m ecstatic. (Here’s one of the mountains.)23 Oct 2025 12:48 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3ufgmdwus2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m3id3xzgts2nExciting day out today at the prize giving for the @bridportprize Memoir Award where I won runner up back in March. Lesson for life: always prepare a mini-speech for this type of event, or you’ll get caught on the hop, be over-caffeinated, be fazed by the stage lighting, and will gabble.18 Oct 2025 17:34 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3id3xzgts2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m3fo5dnavk2gI wasn’t in the Lakes to walk the Coast to Coast, but I did find myself on a section of it for a couple of miles. That got me remembering the brilliant ‘You Are Here’ - and then I ended up in the bookshop in Grasmere. (There’s more to the Literary Lake District than merely Wordsworth.)17 Oct 2025 16:14 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3fo5dnavk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m3cexmpg622kA couple of days ago I took a walk above the clouds.16 Oct 2025 08:52 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3cexmpg622khttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m2z4uuig522jDefinitely the best picture I’ve ever taken from a moving bus. (Yes, it’s in colour. Yes, I’ve escaped for a few days to hills.)12 Oct 2025 16:33 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2z4uuig522jhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m2vtfygokr2eOut last night to hear @darren_mcgarvey (brilliantly interviewed by Nicola Sturgeon) talking about his new book Trauma Industrial Complex - about trauma stories, how we consume them, and how those of us telling our stories can more responsibly look after ourselves. More of this, please.11 Oct 2025 09:06 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2vtfygokr2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3m2qyvgvmi32aWalking through London earlier, I realised I was thinking of mountains - this one in particular: Ama Dablam, in the Nepalese Himalaya. I was there in 2010. Fifteen years is a long time for a particular piece of rock and ice to get under your skin. This one, it seems, is still very much under mine.09 Oct 2025 11:00 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2qyvgvmi32ahttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3lykchksyjc2yFor a long time now it’s been a paradox in my life, the activities I’ve been able to do whilst also being quite (sometimes extremely) unwell. I often wonder how that looks from the outside. ‘She says that she has a chronic illness and yet there she is on a mountain’ etc. So I wrote about it: https://open.substack.com/pub/katejarmstrong/p/but-you-climb-mountains?r11 Sep 2025 08:13 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3lykchksyjc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3lw5i7xlphs2aAnd the anniversary itself. Six full years since my darling Matthew died. It’s so much easier now than the first years were. Nonetheless, I needed space, so I’ve been on a long walk in the Surrey Hills. Grief softens. I’ve also grown around the scar. The scar remains. And onwards.11 Aug 2025 19:01 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3lw5i7xlphs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3lw2p2iujtc2pIt’s the anticipation of the grief anniversaries that’s the hardest. Tomorrow will be 6 years since Matthew died. Yesterday felt brutal - I was swamped by all I’ve lost.‘I’m going to get bigger from this not smaller,’ I vowed 6 years ago. I have done. I’m proud of myself. But there’s so much loss.10 Aug 2025 16:25 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3lw2p2iujtc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3lvdfw4c2k222Well - last night I did a sort-of speaker event, talking about many of the hard events of my past fifteen years and what it takes me to handle them. ‘You’re an emanator of light,’ I was told at the end, and then the follow up: ‘Have you thought of writing a book?’ (I may be doing just that.)01 Aug 2025 10:10 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvdfw4c2k222https://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3lpt6ym4vx22yThis was a big one to write: [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 May 2025 08:18 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpt6ym4vx22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3loqkjs5cns22Mountains last weekend. Scottish this time.09 May 2025 13:41 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3loqkjs5cns22https://bsky.app/profile/katejarmstrong.bsky.social/post/3lo4jhtqmck2cWell, in all the time I’ve been talking about The Book, the words I’ve used have been these: ‘if I can finish writing it’; and ‘if it gets an agent’; and ‘if it gets a publisher’; and ‘if people want to buy and read it’. This week I reached a milestone: I signed with a fabulous agent. On we go!01 May 2025 14:29 +0000at://did:plc:4he2onicuiocvd5l7rcbmejv/app.bsky.feed.post/3lo4jhtqmck2c