About

Unearthing our Hidden Wholeness

My story

My friend once told me I’m a paradox because I am both deep and reflective, and light and fun. I’m not sure if this was a compliment, but I took it that way! It’s true - my book and my writing can go pretty deep. But, I can also laugh at myself and life too. The inner journey is right here, woven into the tapestry of everyday living, and life is both dark and light, challenging and fun. My kids remind me constantly never to forget the fun.
I didn't always know that truth. My inner journey started when things stopped going according to 'my plan', culminating with a blood cancer diagnosis. It began when I let go of control.
What I found was so hidden inside myself I didn’t even know I was seeking it. Wholeness. Liberation. Inner Freedom. All of that was in my heart all along. I discovered that 'awakening' is ordinary (and extraordinary) and available to everyone - including you. That's why I had to write it down - enter my book.
I have written professionally as a marketer and content writer for twenty years. Now, through my newsletter and book, I aim to consciously and compassionately explore the human condition. My goal is to challenge biases and societal norms, and, in doing so, reshape mainstream narratives for the better.

Professional Bio

Residing on Darkinjung Country with her husband and four children, Lara Charles, an Australian writer, explores life’s deeper threads through her thought-provoking writing. Her work has been published in respected publications such as Mamamia and NZ’s most prominent media outlet, Stuff. She is the author of the Deeper Threads Substack newsletter and soon to be podcast, and is a teacher on global cancer website thriversark.com. With twenty years of professional writing experience in marketing, Joy, Regardless is her debut memoir.

AS SEEN IN

A few facts about me

Family life
My husband and I have four children (which includes a pair of delightful and dynamic (read: full-on) twins). The mayhem and the magic exist in perfect harmony. I've come to realise that motherhood is the process of walking the mountain – relishing in the highlands and accepting the troughs. We have lived in the bushy hills of Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand for over 15 years, and are now living on Darkinjung country in the sunny Central Coast of NSW. I acknowledge and pay my respects to the Traditional Owners and Custodians on whose land we walk, work and live.
Work Life
I care about the planet, nature, mental health, indigenous rights. I care about the world our children will inherit. I have spent my marketing career in NGO’s, trying to make the world a better place. While I don’t regret a thing, I know now that the fight for a better world will keep on being a fight unless we look inwards (a cliché, but true). That's where my work passion is now - using words as a bridge home to our truest selves. My writing has been featured in New Zealand’s most prominent media platform, Stuff, as well as in international platforms such as Tiny Buddha and Elephant Journal.
(And I do still work in marketing as a freelance consultant and content writer but only for organisation with purpose. More on that aspect of my life over at LinkedIn).
After Work Life
As 40-something-year-old, I love to laugh, dance, dive in the ocean, bush walk with my husband and kids, drink wine with my girlfriends. I occasionally curse. My friends describe me as loving and honest. I have an awesome family - they sometimes call me Larzie and fill my bucket to the brim (love you guys!). I’m a truth-seeker. I read (a lot). I listen to podcasts while folding laundry. I meditate. I deeply love nature. And I have fallen in love with the craft of writing.
Health
Over ten years ago, I was diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia - a rare, chronic blood cancer in which a person's bone marrow makes too many platelets. The diagnosis was equally a jolt to my system and the catalyst for change.

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what people say

  • "Lara's knowledge is no longer conceptual. It is no longer borrowed knowledge from spiritual teachers or teachings. Lara has taken a dive into herself in a true and deep way. Her writing reflects her special inner light of awareness, a light that many can benefit from its clarity in how to live with true purpose and in happiness."
    Shikhaa, Spiritual Teacher and Co-founder of the Wisdom of Meditation Centre, New Zealand
  • "Lara’s book is beautifully written and her unique voice shines through right from the start. It’s equal parts humorous and poignant but always unflinchingly honest. It is not only a cancer survivor’s story but a powerful story of her inner journey, which is the journey we all have in common, whether we have cancer or not."
    Petrina Hargrave, Co-founder, Thriver's Ark
Copyright © 2025 Lara Charles. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy Professional photography by Michelle Jacobson and Rebecca McMillian I work across the lands known as Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. In Australia, I acknowledge the Darkinjung People and the Guringai People, Traditional Custodians of the land on which I live and work, and pay my respects to their elders, past, present and emerging. In Aotearoa, I acknowledge and pay my respect to Māori as tangata whenua (First People) of Aotearoa New Zealand.