Author

No Place to Lie (published by whitefox, 4th February 2021, £9.99) is Helen’s debut memoir, an immersive, uplifting page-turner about corrosive family secrets, the truth behind her younger brother’s death in 1981 and the extraordinary secret her mum took to her grave.

Helen has authored books on separation and divorce including the Which? Guide to Divorce, co-authored the Penguin Guide to the Law (2001) and the Separation Survival Handbook (Penguin) and academic works. She has written articles for the Guardian, Saga and Spirit and Destiny and welcomes opportunities for articles about family communication, secrets, suicide prevention and wellbeing.

She is currently working on two new books, one about the healing power of talking and the second, The Golden Litter, about Pippin’s golden cocker spaniel puppies, born Autumn 2020.

So compelling. I read the book in two days, and loved it. I wish that all of the emotional and behavioural lessons that you could take from it could be bottled and taught early on.
Matthew Syed. Author, journalist and broadcaster.

No Place to Lie is an exceptional true life story of trauma, damage, survival and hope. Read with care, the book gives us an honest, deep insight into a family’s tragedy, what and perhaps why it all happened.
Dr Shelley Gilbert. MBE, Founder and President of Grief Encounter.

A sibling’s respectful, honest memoir of a lost brother and corroding family secrets.
Libby Purves OBE, radio presenter, journalist and author.

Wow. What a story! Amazing. I loved reading this book and feel privileged to have done so. I hope the author’s family would both have been proud of our Messiah.
Mark Strachan Founder of the Self Isolation Choir.

No Place to Lie

Available to buy from all brilliant booksellers.

Audio:

Speaker, Trainer

Communication and heartfelt connection with more than a dash of joy and fun.

Helen is a renowned speaker and trainer on talking solutions including collaborative law, negotiation skills, conflict resolution, mediation and wellbeing.

Thirty years’ experience of training lawyers, family practitioners (and real people!) with consistently outstanding, excellent feedback.

Helen firmly believes that people develop and learn best when enjoying themselves.

She has been the keynote speaker for example for legal dispute resolution conferences, a national conference of accountants and has contributed, trained and spoken all over the UK and internationally.

Future training courses will be posted here in due course.

In lockdown, she is happily chatting and storytelling on book club zooms about No Place to Lie and will be running online bespoke training for lawyers, relationship counsellors and all of us engaged in the work of improving communication and soulful connection.

Lockdown and the divisive politics of the past have created so much disconnection, pain and division. To find our way back to each other we need to share our vulnerability, safely, tell our stories and be heard to remind ourselves that we are all learning, sharing the experience of being human on our amazing planet. In the words of Amanda Gorman, ‘We lay down our arms so that we can reach out our arms to one another, we seek harm to none and harmony for all.’

Helen would welcome a chat about how we can work together and collaborate. Contact Helen here to book in a free 20 minute call to discuss what you would like to do next and how she can support you.

Click here to listen to hear Helen tell her extraordinary stories in her YouTube Channel: Hello! It’s better to talk (and don’t forget to subscribe, it’s all free).

New episodes uploaded every Wednesday at noon GMT.

To book Helen to speak:

Speaker Enquiry

Giving Back

LEJOG Fundraising walk 2023

Helen and her husband Tim Rice, together with their cocker spaniels Pippin and her son Ziggy Stardust, will be walking from John O’Groats to Lands End in 2023 (planned start date 1st March 2023) on The Silver Lining Tour to fundraise for charities involved in suicide prevention and mental wellbeing, including Grief Encounter,.

They plan to arrange talks along the way to discuss secrets, shame and the importance of talking in venues from village halls to football stadia (well, we can dream!)

Click here if you would like to book them for your local venue.

Lighting up the world

In collaboration with Olivetreehome Candle House, Helen has co-created a beautiful candle with a scent inspired by the Foreword in No Place to Lie. The candles can be lit to start an intentional conversation, to heal a broken connection or to send out love and light into the world and will be available on her future training courses.

A candle will also be one of three prizes in an Instagram competition running from 25 February. Check out the competition on Helen’s Instagram account.

All profits from the sale of the candle will be donated to charity.