I could be the poster woman for finding myself in my fifties, except I wasn’t like some £5 note, lost down the back of a sofa – that’s just when I started to make changes. Living alone for the first time, I tried things I’d not done before – writing being just one.
And the writing habit stuck…
© 2026, Debs Carey
Born and brought up in India, with three generations of my family born in India or (what’s now) Pakistan, I felt at home in a country where I looked different to the majority Asian population, but felt an alien when I returned to the UK despite looking like the majority white population. Stories of culture, race and religion play an important part in my family history.
During our early years in India and Africa, my family and I lived with with civil unrest and civil war. I then attended a UK boarding school from the age of 12, started living in England aged 19, and became a single parent at 25. In my early fifties, I was diagnosed and treated for Breast Cancer, and became a mature student, all while working full-time and helping to care for my father at home.
An NLP Practitioner, with diplomas in a range of psychology related subjects, a Mental Health First Aider and MHFA Trainer, I’m a life-long sufferer with depression, so self-care has become more than a hashtag to me – it provides a framework for living well. When I write on these subjects it is with the aim of sharing my knowledge and learnings as a fellow traveler rather than an expert. I’ve spent enough time walking this walk to know there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so I’m here to share with and learn from my fellow travelers.
© 2026, Debs Carey
Be it fiction, factual or opinion… storytelling matters. As a reader first (and what writer isn’t?) I know this well. I still read avidly, for pleasure obviously, but also because it provides me with the best method for learning the craft.
Fiction aside, I write essays and articles – both long and short-form, op-ed pieces, blogs and social media posts. I take serious subjects seriously but write in a manner which is approachable and easy to understand. My writing has been described variously as insightful and honest, as well as witty and relatable.
Non-fiction topics I write about include…
Currently you can find my writing on Substack, co-hosted site Fiction Can Be Fun, and my personal blog Debs Despatches. I have a large body of work available offline – contact me for a sample.
© 2026, Debs Carey
debscarey.com 