PRESS PITCH
11.00 Mon 15 Feb 2021
Mother's Day Interview Feature Suggestion
Missing Your Mum on Mother's Day?
Therapist specialising in loss and loneliness, Pam Billinge, has a new book coming out on March 16th, The Spirit of the Horse, a sequel to her popular debut memoir The Spell of the Horse.
We are seeking an interview which we feel would work well as a Mother's Day feature:
* CANCER Her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer changed Pam's life.
* ASPIRATIONAL LATE-LIFE DEVELOPMENT Pam 'got' horses in later life, rather than the usual run-on from childhood. Growing up in Liverpool, the first horses she saw were the police horses and donkey/pony on Colwyn bay beach where they went for their holidays.
* COVID. Loss and separation are themes of Pam's therapy work. Many stories in her book are about separation from loved ones either by death, illness or divorce. She herself has had to deal with these issues as she settles into life as a woman in her 50s, alone in a remote place.
* TOPICAL Living as a BREXIT ex-pat. The vile horse terrorists nearby, well-covered in the UK press, caused many sleepless nights, urgent security updates, and relocation to sleep next to the barn. The events also led Pam to make new friends and experience solidarity amongst the local community.
* NATURE The natural world plays a big part in Pam’s life and work, and this echoes the currently burgeoning awareness of how important nature is for us to be happy.
* READER TAKEAWAY? MOTHER/DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP Pam can explain how to get closer to your mum even though you are far away. Pam describes uplifting stories of recovery, both hers and her clients’ (all permissions sought and received), showing how it is possible to heal from loss and become 'bigger' as a result of separation. She also shows in an honest way the complexity of mother daughter relationships - that there may be some aspects which are difficult and constraining, conflict may even be present. But that being a daughter(or mother) also means loving in spite of our mistakes and learning to forgive. It all goes back to being kind to one's self... paying attention to feelings.
* SUMMARY: Pam's mother's death turned Pam's life upside down in a shocking, tragic way. Then, very much in her mother and grandmother’s spirit she went on to transform her life and those of many others through developing her horse-led therapy work, writing and now living in France. Now all this is helping her to deal with the separation and isolation in her new foreign home, imposed by coronavirus.
‘Masterful, uplifting and insightful, this book has left an indelible stamp on my
heart.’ Justin Featherstone MC
‘It is with grace that horses lead us gently to a place where forgiveness is possible and
self-compassion takes the place of contempt. They draw us into a non-linear dimension where we can sink into the infinity of the moment and know deep peace and harmony.' - Pam Billinge
When Pam follows her dream to a farmhouse with five acres in northern France, she is able to live
alongside her horses for the first time. Here, in the heart of nature, deeper insights are revealed into the healing connection between horse and human and the incredible power of presence to
transform. Might it be that learning to honour and communicate with another species helps us to reframe the way we perceive each other, as well as how we might see ourselves?
A pioneer in embodied horse-led therapy and leadership development, Pam’s story is interwoven with
those of inspiring individuals and groups she has supported: from people experiencing relationship breakdown to large organisations looking for culture change; from the bereaved or lonely to the
confused wishing to explore what next. Steeped in simple wisdom, the stories offer the reader a pragmatic, mindful template for personal transformation.
Paperback and ebook out on 16th March 2021
Waterstones £9.99: smarturl.it/spiritwaterstones
Amazon £3.99 : smarturl.it/spirithorse
