About

My story

A friend once told me I’m a paradox - deep and reflective, but also light and fun. I took it as a compliment (and it’s true). My writing goes deep, but I laugh at myself and life often. My kids make sure I never forget the fun. My inner journey began when life stopped going to plan, culminating in a blood cancer diagnosis. When I let go of control, I found something I didn’t even know I was looking for - wholeness and a sense of home within my own skin. I believe the search for feeling whole is universal, and that’s what inspired my book.
I have written professionally as a marketer and content writer for twenty years. Now, through my newsletter, podcast, published pieces and book, my work gives voice to the truths that return us to our wholeness - the place from which we create a better world.
Joy, rEGARDLESS out now!

Professional Bio

Lara Charles explores life’s deeper threads through her thought-provoking writing, giving voice to the quiet truths that live beneath the surface. Her work has been published nationally and internationally in outlets including Mamamia, Wellbeing, and NZ’s largest media platform, Stuff. She is the creator of the Deeper Threads Substack newsletter and podcast, and a teacher on the global cancer support website Thrivers Ark. Born on Darkinjung Country in NSW Australia and now based in Aotearoa New Zealand - where her book is set - Lara writes to guide readers back to their wholeness. Joy, Regardless is her debut memoir.

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Invite Lara to speak

book readings & conversations

I love speaking at book clubs, events and community gatherings - any space with real conversation. I talk about things like writing, parenting, spirituality, health, service and how our personal healing can ripple out into the wider world. I’m also happy to do a reading from my book and simply have a chat, as much of what I talk about draws on the themes in Joy, Regardless.
If you'd like to invite me to speak or chat with your group, feel free to get in touch via email at hello@laracharles.com.
CONTACT LARA

A few more fun 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. We live in the bushy hills of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, but my place of birth - Darkinjung Country in the sunny Central Coast of NSW - will always hold a piece of my heart.
Work Life
I care deeply about the world our children will inherit. My marketing career has been spent in NGOs, fighting for a better future. I don’t regret a thing - but I’ve come to see that lasting change starts within. Now, my work gives voice to the truths that return us to our wholeness - the place from which we create a better world.
(And yes, I still work in marketing - as a freelance consultant and content writer for purpose-driven organisations. You’ll find more on that side of my life over on LinkedIn).
After Work Life
In a nutshell: I’m a mid-lifer who loves to laugh, dance, bush walk with my family, dive into the ocean and drink wine with my girlfriends. I’m a truth-seeker, a nature lover and a big reader. I meditate, curse occasionally and fold laundry with a podcast in my ears. I’ve fallen in love with the craft of writing, and I have a bloody awesome family who fill my heart to the brim.
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 © 2026 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 lived, 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.